Former major league pitcher Jim Dickson died Tuesday, his son, Steve, wrote in a post to his Facebook account. He was 87.
Dickson pitched for the Houston Colt .45s (then a second-year National League team that would later become the Astros), the Cincinnati Reds, and the Kansas City Athletics from 1963-66. He went 5-3 with a 4.36 ERA (80 ERA+) in parts of four major league seasons.
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A native of Portland and a longtime resident of Astoria, Oregon, Dickson signed his first professional contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates out of the University of Oregon prior to the 1958 season.
From 1958-61, Dickson climbed the minor league ranks in the Pirates’ system, making 128 appearances across three different levels.
The Colt .45s and New York Mets joined the National League in 1962, and were allowed to draft players from the major and minor league rosters of other NL clubs to fill out their inaugural rosters.
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Dickson actually changed teams twice in the 1961-62 offseason. He was drafted by the Little Rock Travelers of the Southern Association, then a Baltimore Orioles affiliate, in November 1961. Two months later, his contract was purchased by the expansion Colt .45s and invited to their first major league spring training camp.
Dickson didn’t make the cut out of camp, but he spent the season with the Oklahoma City 89ers, the Astros’ top farm club. He went 5-10 with a 4.61 ERA in 33 games (14 starts).
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On July 2, 1963, Dickson made his NL debut against the Cincinnati Reds. Entering a 3-3 game, he allowed a two-run single to the first batter he faced, Vada Pinson, which made the difference in a 6-4 loss.
Dickson would make another 12 appearances as a rookie in 1963, then was traded to the Reds in January 1964 for All-Star infielder Eddie Kasko. Dickson made only four appearances out of the Reds’ bullpen and spent the rest of the season with the Triple-A San Diego Padres.
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Dickson was eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft after the 1964 season, and he became the first player chosen that December by the Kansas City Athletics. Dickson would go on to have his best season in 1965, going 3-2 with a 3.47 ERA in 68 games out of the A’s bullpen.
But after making just 24 appearances in 1966, and posting a 5.35 ERA (64 ERA+), Dickson had played his final major league game. He toiled for four more seasons in the minors with the A’s, San Francisco Giants, and Astros organizations before retiring.
After his playing career ended, Dickson returned to Oregon to coach the Astoria High School baseball team. He later served as a pitching coach for Grosseto in the Italian Serie A1.
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