Lee Dodson is pictured in these two snapshots from 1947, the year he pitched for the Topeka Owls minor league baseball team. With an 18-4 record and an ERA of 2.37, Dodson led the Class C Western Association that year in both winning percentage and earned run average. Dodson was a right-handed power pitcher from Topeka. As a youth, he played in Topeka High's intramural league and the American Legion's Junior Baseball program. After serving in the Army during World War II, Dodson pitched professionally in the minor leagues from 1946 through 1950. In 141 game appearances, he earned 37 wins against 35 losses, and had an ERA of 3.76. Besides Topeka, Dodson pitched for the Chanute Owls, Kansas City Blues, Newark Bears, Muskegon Clippers and Beaumont Roughnecks. After the minor leagues, he pursued a career in education, serving for many years as the Dean of Students at Washburn University. Throughout his adult life, Dodson was a leader in Topeka's baseball community. Over the years, he founded and managed several leagues, and managed and coached countless teams. He also was co-founder and president of the Topeka Baseball Federation. Known as Topeka's "Mr. Baseball", Lee Dodson died in 2013 at the age of 89. Digital reproduction of the photographs was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.
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