Rap Dixon

Herbert Allen "Rap" Dixon (September 15 1902 - July 20 1942) was an American outfielder in Negro League baseball for a number of teams. He was born in Kingston, Georgia.

Although Dixon began playing in the league in 1922, he joined the semi-pro Keystone Giants in 1916 at the age of fourteen. Dixon was noticed for his quick and powerful bat by William Strothers, who was building up the independent Giants at the time.

When Dixon began playing for Strothers in the 1920s, the outfield for the Giants was one of the best of all time; Dixon, Oscar Charleston, and Fats Jenkins. The lineup, in its entirety, scored runs at a higher pace than the 1927 New York Yankees. Dixon had many weapons; speed, hitting, and power were all his strengths and he became known as a triple threat. In 1929, he batted .382 with seven home runs, and led the league with six triples.

Dixon was also notable for discovering the Baseball Hall of Famer Leon Day playing in the Baltimore sandlots.

In possibly the most amazing feat of his career, playing in the first game in which two Negro-League teams faced each other at Yankee Stadium, Dixon shot three home runs into the right field seats, in front of a crowd of 20,000.

Dixon also was a teammate of such Hall of Fame greats as Satchel Paige and Judy Johnson when he was with the Pittsburgh Crawfords.

In later years, with the Baltimore Black Sox, Rap played with his brother Paul and also with Day. Dixon was selected to the East-West All-Star Game in 1933. Also, in 26 games against white major leaguers, he compiled a .372 average.

The accomplished Negro League legend died at age 39 in Detroit, Michigan.

External links

* [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/dixon_rap.htm Baseball Hall of Fame candidate biography]