Lee Dodson is shown in this photo postcard from 1949, when he played for the Newark Bears minor league baseball team. 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 minor league game appearances, he earned 37 wins against 35 losses, and had an ERA of 3.76. Besides Newark, Dodson pitched for the Chanute Owls, Topeka Owls, Kansas City Blues, 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 postcard was accomplished through a joint project sponsored by the Kansas Historical Society and the Shawnee County Baseball Hall of Fame.
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