page_title: Jimmy Dykes
section_title: Managerial career
hierarchical_section_title: Jimmy Dykes / Managerial career
caption_attribution_description: English: Major League Baseball manager Jimmy Dykes in 1953
context_page_description: James Joseph Dykes was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third and second baseman from 1918 through 1939, most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1929 to 1931 and, won the World Series in 1929 and 1930. He played his final six seasons for the Chicago White Sox.
  Dykes batted over .300 five times during his career and was a member of one of the most feared batting orders in the history of baseball featuring three future Baseball Hall of Fame members. He also excelled as a defensive player, leading the American League in assists once at second base and twice at third base, ending his career sixth in AL history in games at third base, and seventh in putouts, assists, total chances and double plays.
  At the time of his retirement, Dykes ranked eighth in American League history in games played, and ninth in at bats. He holds the Athletics franchise record for career doubles, and formerly held team marks for career games and at bats.
context_section_description: Early in the 1934 season, he succeeded Lew Fonseca as White Sox manager. He was the team's player-manager until 1939. However, his playing career effectively ended in 1936; after that season, he only made cameo appearances in a total of 58 games. After formally retiring as a player in 1939, he continued as manager until early 1946. The White Sox finished in third place three times in his tenure. In 1936, they finished 81–70 (with two ties) while tied in percentage (.536) with the Washington Senators for third place. While they were 20 games behind the New York Yankees, it was the first time they had been a factor in a pennant race that late in any season since 1920, a year in which the team was decimated late in the season by the suspension (and eventual permanent banning from baseball) of the "Black Sox." It was also only their third winning season since 1920.
  His best finish with the White Sox was the 1937 season, when they finished with an 86–68 record, which was good for another third place finish, 16 games behind the Yankees. They finished in third place in 1941 at 77–77 (with 2 ties) and 24 games back of the Yankees. The White Sox did not place as high as 3rd place again until 1952. The worst finish for the White Sox during his tenure was the 49–88 record in his first year; his 10–20 record during his last season in 1946 was his worst in terms of percentage.
  As a manager, he proved more combative and argumentative than he had been as a player, and was often fined and suspended; his 62 ejections were among the all-time top ten when he retired. After Ted Lyons replaced him as White Sox manager, Dykes managed two years in the minor leagues with the White Sox' top minor league affiliate, the Hollywood Stars. He returned to the majors in 1949 as a coach with the Athletics.  On May 26, 1950–one month into the season–he was promoted to assistant manager. It was also announced Mack would retire after the 1950 season having totaled 50 years at the helm, and Dykes would succeed him for the 1951 season. However, Dykes essentially became the A's de facto manager for the remainder of the 1950 season; he became the team's main game-day operator, and split control over most baseball matters with former teammate Mickey Cochrane, who became general manager.  Although Mack, who by this time was now sole owner of the club, maintained his position as team president, he was now a figurehead.  Dykes remained as manager until the end of the 1953 season. In his three seasons with the Athletics, the team finished 6th, 4th, and 7th, respectively. The 1952 season had them finish 79–75 (16 games behind the Yankees). This was the only winning season notched by the A's in the 1950s, and would be the franchise's last .500 season until 1968.
  Dykes was named the Baltimore Orioles' first manager in 1954 after that franchise relocated from St. Louis. In his only season with the team, he went 54–100 — the only 100 loss season in his managerial career. Dykes left in a team reorganization which ended with Paul Richards becoming both field and general manager in 1955. After 35 years in the American League, Dykes became a coach with the National League's Cincinnati Redlegs, leading them as interim manager for part of 1958. However, he came back to the AL as manager of the Detroit Tigers in 1959. The Tigers team had lost 15 of their first 17 games under Bill Norman before being fired one month into the season at which Dykes was hired. His 1959 team went 74–63 (while finishing 76–78 overall), good for 4th place and 18 games behind his old White Sox team. He managed them to a 44–52 record in 1960. At that point, Frank Lane, then general manager of the Cleveland Indians and famous for his numerous transactions, sent Joe Gordon to Detroit and brought Dykes to Cleveland in a rare trade of managers. Dykes managed the Indians from 1960–1961. His teams went 26–32 and 77–83.
  In 21 seasons as a manager, Dykes compiled a 1,406–1,541 record, never winning a pennant or finishing higher than third place. After serving as a coach for the Milwaukee Braves in 1962, he ret
caption: Jimmy Dykes as manager of the Athletics.
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