American baseball player (1885-1944)
Baseball player
Joseph Edward Dunn (March 11, 1885 – March 19, 1944) was a professional baseball player who played catcher for the Brooklyn Superbas during the 1908 & 1909 baseball seasons.
He became a minor league baseball manager after his playing career ended, winning league championships in 1919, 1920 and 1930.
Dunn was a key figure in reestablishing minor league baseball in his hometown of Springfield, Ohio in 1928. Without a team since 1917, Dunn and his siblings Charles and Katherine had formed the "Springfield Baseball Club Inc." to secure a franchise as the Central League was reforming. The three siblings sold some shared of the franchise stock to Frank Navin, who was the owner of the Detroit Tigers. They received $5,000 from Navin for the stock. In return, Navin secured a percentage of the ballpark concessions and held first-refusal rights on any players that Springfield signed. The Springfield team was then established.[1]
The Springfield Dunnmen were named for their manager in 1929, one season before Dunn led Springfield to the Central League championship.[2]
On Sunday, March 19, 1944, residing in Springfield, Dunn became ill during a church service and was taken to the nearby Bancroft Hotel, where died in the lobby of a heart attack. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Springfield. Kitty Dunn, his wife, lived in the family home until her death in 1968.[1]
Minor league managing career
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