Pitchers Dizzy Dean and Paul Derringer didn’t get along as Cardinals teammates. As opponents, their dislike for one another erupted into public view.
On June 6, 1933, Dean and Derringer got into a fight on the field before a game at Cincinnati. Only their egos got bruised.
Dean, the consummate showman, was a flamboyant flamethrower who craved attention. Derringer, a skilled but less flashy pitcher, was “a belligerent man who often used his fists to settle disputes,” according to the Society for American Baseball Research.
Dean became a Hall of Famer, but Derringer earned far more career wins (223) than Dizzy did (150).
Intramural rivalry
Conflict between Dean and Derringer began in 1931 when both competed at spring training for a spot as a rookie in the Cardinals’ starting rotation. The Cardinals chose Derringer, 24, and returned Dean, 21, to the minors.
Derringer responded with an excellent rookie season for the 1931 Cardinals, helping them to repeat as National League champions. Derringer was 18-8, leading National League pitchers in winning percentage (.692). He also was the Cardinals’ team leader in shutouts (four).
While Derringer thrived with the Cardinals, Dean pitched for minor-league Houston and took out his frustrations on Texas League foes, crafting a 26-10 record and 1.57 ERA in 1931.
Dean joined Derringer in the 1932 Cardinals’ starting rotation. Smug after his successful debut season, Derringer “strutted too much” and “became his worst enemy,” Sid Keener observed in the St. Louis Star-Times.
That made Derringer a target for Dean’s barbs. “Derringer had trouble with Dean,” the Dayton Daily News reported, “and he was prepared to report to the league president that Dean had been nasty in riding him all season.”
June of 1932 was a turning point for the two rivals. Dean was 3-1 with a 1.91 ERA in June. Derringer’s June numbers: 2-3 and 6.09. From then on, manager Gabby Street turned increasingly to Dean, prompting Derringer to accuse the club of favoritism, according to the book “Diz.”
True to his nature, Derringer “challenged Gabby Street to a fistic duel in the clubhouse,” the Star-Times reported, “because he objected to the managerial maneuvers.”
Dean finished his rookie season as the National League leader in strikeouts (191), shutouts (four) and innings pitched (286). He was 18-15 with a 3.30 ERA. Pitching with “a chip on his shoulder,” according to the Star-Times, Derringer was 11-14 with a 4.05 ERA.
On the move
After Derringer lost his first two decisions in 1933, the Cardinals traded him and two others to the Reds on May 7 for shortstop Leo Durocher, plus two pitchers.
The Cardinals beat Derringer the first time they faced him, on May 30 at St. Louis. Boxscore Five days later, when the Cardinals came to Cincinnati, Derringer turned the tables and won. Boxscore
Derringer was one of eight former Cardinals on the 1933 Reds, according to the Dayton Daily News. Others included Sparky Adams, Jim Bottomley and Chick Hafey. When the series started, “the boys were all pals,” Si Burick noted in the Dayton newspaper. “Leo Durocher, the famous (bench) jockey, was kidding all his former teammates good-naturedly, and the Reds kidded right back. There was entirely too much fun going on.”
That all changed on June 6 before the start of a Tuesday afternoon game.
Fighting words
According to the Dayton Daily News, “Derringer was pitching in batting practice and Dean was razzing him from the Cardinals dugout.”
Dean was “riding the life out of me,” Derringer told the Associated Press.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Derringer said Dean was “questioning his courage.”
Derringer approached Dean and “asked him if he meant what he had been saying,” the Dayton newspaper reported.
“I replied, ‘I meant every word of it,’ ” Dean said to the Post-Dispatch.
Derringer threw a punch and claimed it landed square in Dean’s eye, the Dayton newspaper reported.
Dean told the Post-Dispatch, “I’m skillful at the manly art of self-defense and I ducked very cleverly.”
To prove his point, Dean “showed an eye that had no shiner,” according to the Dayton newspaper.
After the punch, Derringer grabbed Dean, “and when I saw he wanted to wrestle I caught him around the neck and threw him to the ground,” Dean explained to the Post-Dispatch.
As the clinched pair rolled around, Cardinals pitcher Dazzy Vance, 42, “strolled out and sat on them until the situation was in hand,” the Dayton Daily News reported.
Derringer told the newspaper that he “would have won by a knockout if Vance hadn’t stopped the bout.”
Dean claimed he gave Derringer “a right to the side of the head” before Vance arrived.
The Three Stooges-like antics carried over into the game. Cardinals player George Watkins was ejected for throwing his cap at an umpire after being called out on the base path, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported, and Reds coach Jewel Ens also was ejected for arguing a call.
After the ejection of Ens, a woman spectator heaved a soda bottle from the stands, intending it for the umpire. Instead, it struck Cardinals infielder Burgess Whitehead on the shoulder as he stood on a dugout step, according to the Associated Press. Boxscore
Postscript
Dean was a 20-game winner for the 1933 Cardinals, then followed with 30 wins in 1934, plus two more in the World Series. He is the last National League pitcher to achieve 30 wins in a season.
Though his ERA was 3.30, Derringer was 7-27 in 1933 _ 0-2 with the Cardinals and 7-25 with the last-place Reds.
Despite that, he posted more wins (223) than losses (212) in his 15 seasons in the majors. He also pitched in four World Series for three franchises _ Cardinals (1931), Reds (1939 and 1940) and Cubs (1945).
RetroSimba 
Don’t think Derringer would have been the guy I would have wanted to room with on the road.
Yep, he could be tough on his managers as well. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Reds manager Bill McKechnie sent a message out to Paul Derringer on the mound, telling him to intentionally walk Johnny Mize. Derringer, who didn’t like walking anybody, messaged back to McKechnie, “Go to hell.” Then he drilled Mize in the ribs.
A charming human being.
Another interesting writeup.
No offense, Mark, but I took a gander at Dizzy’s numbers and I’m not seeing HOF there. He had a few all-time GREAT seasons (for your beloved Cardinals) but besides that was non-existent. His win total is especially noteworthy because of all the criticism today’s players get for potentially getting into the HOF with “only” 200 wins. Ol’ Dizzy went three straight seasons with 300-plus innings…did he blow his arm out or something? His career took a nosedive faster than any player I’ve ever seen.
I was also amused by how Dean was dominant and Derringer sucked so when the manager went to Dean more Derringer accused the club of “favoritism.” Numbers be damned. Sounds like the knucklehead was a bit delusional as well as a hothead.
Dizzy Dean got elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as much for his larger-than-life personality and for his nationwide popularity as he did for his statistics.
He loved the spotlight, and he loved to entertain, and during a time when the Great Depression brought so much misery to people, Dizzy was a happy distraction who could lift the spirits of others. When he won 30 games in 1934 and then pitched the Cardinals to a World Series triumph against the Tigers, his popularity was immense.
A good example is this excerpt from the biography “Diz:”
“The Cardinals were staying at Detroit’s Book-Cadillac Hotel, World Series headquarters, and when Dean’s cab pulled up at the hotel, where a big crowd was forming near both entrances, loudspeakers were blaring a hot trombone version of ‘Hold That Tiger.’ He jumped out, waved, did a jig, and pretended to lead the music. Then somebody tossed him a stuffed toy tiger. He was twisting its tail and laughing as he and his brother Paul went inside for a late breakfast with Will Rogers and Damon Runyon.”
Dizzy also was always accessible to all baseball writers _ and it was they who decided who got elected to the Hall of Fame. Dizzy was notorious for giving a different version of a story to each baseball writer who interviewed him, so that each writer would have his own “exclusive.” He made a lot of friends among the writers _ and the readers of those writers.
In 1937, Dean was struck in the toe by a drive off the bat of Earl Averill in the All-Star Game. He got bad medical advice from the Cardinals and kept pitching despite great pain in the toe. He altered his pitching motion to try to minimize the pain in his foot, and that’s how he damaged his arm. Here’s the story: https://retrosimba.com/2017/07/08/dizzy-dean-and-his-final-painful-cardinals-days/
It’s was obvious from the start that Dean and Derringer weren’t meant to be teammates. Did they ever resolve their differences later in life? Paul Derringer still has the third most wins by a Cincinnati Reds pitcher. And he is the only Reds pitcher to reach the 20 win mark 4 times. I noticed that Dizzy Dean went 4 for 14 with one double against Paul Derringer. That probably added more fuel to the fire.
I appreciate the insights and I am glad you mentioned Dizzy Dean’s career batting record vs. Paul Derringer.
On June 18, 1933, two weeks after their altercation, Dean and Derringer were the starting pitchers in a Cardinals-Reds game. In the second inning, facing Derringer for the first time as a batter, Dean singled, scoring Leo Durocher from third. On the play, “Derringer knocked down Dean’s high bounder, and when second baseman George Grantham fell down trying to recover it, Durocher scored and Dean was credited with a hit,” the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported.
Dean pitched a 4-hitter and Derringer allowed 7 runs in 2.2 innings. “The much-advertised Dean-Derringer feud didn’t bring on any blows, except those off the Cardinals bats,” the St. Louis Star-Times reported.
Dean had 3 hits, including a home run versus Larry Benton, and 3 RBI in the game: https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1933/B06181CIN1933.htm
I took a lot from this post Mark, one thing in particular and maybe I’m stating the obvious but I often times forget how beneficial provocations are from people I know. They can really crawl under my skin and make me think and in the end, I come out stronger or smarter and take myself less seriously. In the case of Dean and Dillinger, I wonder if they did that to each other…..provided inspiration.
There’s a mixed martial artist here in Quebec whose name I think is George St. Pierre. I think he’s retired now. I saw a documentary of him and he said something to the effect of thanking his enemies for making him fight harder.
That’s an interesting take, Steve. It does seem that, at times, the competitiveness between Dizzy Dean and Paul Derringer pushed one another to success on the mound. In 1935, the top 3 National League pitchers in wins that season were Dizzy Dean (28), Carl Hubbell (23) and Paul Derringer (22). Those 3 also were the 1935 NL leaders in innings pitched: Dean (325.1), Hubbell (302.2) and Derringer (276.2).
Awesome article. I love the Dean brothers!
Thanks for reading and for commenting.
One of the things I liked about the Dean brothers is that they were non-conformists _ big-league baseball, and especially the Cardinals, could use a lot more of that.
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