Sunday Was “Dizzy Dean Day” At Busch Stadium…And Grand-Nephew Mark Dean Tells Us About It!

 

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Sunday Was “Dizzy Dean Day” At Busch Stadium…And Grand-Nephew Mark Dean Tells Us About It!

“The Good Lord was good to me. He gave me a strong body, a good right arm…and a weak mind!” –Dizzy Dean

As we’ve said many times, we always love it when we make contact with a relative of a former ball player. It doesn’t matter to us if the ball player was a star or a sub. Anyone who makes it to the major leagues is special in our eyes. But, as in this case, when the player is a Hall-of-Famer and one of the game’s all-time great personalities, that makes it doubly exciting!

I’m very pleased to share with our readers the news that I recently had a conversation via Facebook about Sunday’s “Dizzy Dean Day” at Busch Stadium with my Facebook friend, Mark Dean. Mark is the grandson of former Cardinal pitcher Paul Dean, Dizzy’s brother. Of course, that also makes Mark the grand-nephew of Dizzy Dean, one of the most dominant pitchers of his era, and certainly one of the greatest Cardinals ever.  

As part of the “Dizzy Dean Day” festivities, Mark and his family were invited by the Cardinals’ organization to attend Sunday’s game between the Cardinals and the Brewers. No surprise, the Deans are all rabid Cardinal fans, so they didn’t have to be asked twice; and about 50 members of the extended Dean family were in attendance. As guests of honor, they enjoyed the game from the Red Bird Club section of Busch Stadium. A “Dizzy Dean Commemorative Watch” was given away to the first 30,000 fans.

In a pre-game ceremony which celebrated the Hall-of-Fame career of “the one-and-only” Dizzy Dean, 12 members of the Dean family were introduced to the crowd. One of the Dean great-grandsons was given the honor of throwing out the ceremonial First Pitch. 

A special guest of honor was Mark’s dad, Paul Dean, Jr., who received a nice warm ovation from the sell-out crowd of 43,345. Mark commented that his dad was in great spirits and really enjoyed the day. It was a great tonic for him, as his wife Pat – Mark’s mother – had just recently passed away. His dad also mentioned to Mark how amazing it was that after all these years, Diz and Paul, Sr. were still so well remembered by the younger generation of Cardinal fans!

After the game, Mark was kind enough to answer a few of my questions and to share some thoughts about the famous Dean brothers.

Mark’s dad, Paul Dean, Jr, now 81 years old, is the eldest of Paul Dean’s four children. As many of our readers know, the press pinned the totally inappropriate name “Daffy” on Paul, but he never embraced the name and asked reporters not to use it. Paul pitched nine seasons in the major leagues, going 50-34 (.595), with a career 3.75 ERA. In his rookie year of 1934, he went 19-11 (.633) with a 3.43 ERA. Paul, along with brother Dizzy, was one of the heroes of the 1934 World Series, won by the Cardinals’ famous “Gashouse Gang” over the Tigers four games to three. Paul went 2-0, hurling two complete game victories.

Mark is understandably proud of his Dean family legacy, and mentioned that his three children love being related to the famous Dean brothers. Mark and his wife Krista even named one of their twin sons ”Dizzy!”

It comes as no surprise that all the Deans are loyal Cardinal fans and heavily into sports. Mark’s sons Dizzy and Stone play baseball and football, and his daughter Zoie plays volleyball. Three of his brothers are former high school basketball coaches. His family has been to the last four World Series, and they try to take in some Cardinal games each year, although, as Mark says, “It’s gotten harder with my kids playing sports.” Mark, a resident of Fort Smith, Arkansas, also stays in regular contact with the Cardinals’ organization. “They are always great in getting us tickets and keep us in the know when they might be honoring Dizzy and my grandfather Paul.”

Mark also shared with me a little personal information about his dad, Paul Dean, Jr., and his great-uncle, Dizzy Dean:

“My dad played in the Braves organization in the late 1950s. He was really close to his uncle Diz. My mom and dad lived in the same town as Diz. My mom help run the Dizzy Dean museum and my dad would travel across the county with Diz and help him get around while doing personal appearances.”

“Dad tells the story of one time being in the broadcast booth with Diz when Ted Williams came in to visit. My dad gave Ted some gum and he hit five home runs in a double header! Ted saw my dad after the game and told dad he wanted some more of that gum!”

Sunday was a great day for the Dean family. Thanks again to Mark Dean for sharing some of his recollections! Now…if I can only get my hands on one of those great Dizzy Dean commemorative watches!

Gary Livacari

“Friend” me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gary.livacari.9

Photo Credits: Dizzy Dean Day photos from Mark Dean’s Facebook page; all others from Google search

Information: Edited from Facebook conversation with Mark Dean

Check out my two books, both now available on Amazon in e-book and paperback:  “Paul Pryor in His Own Words: The Life and TImes of a 20-Year Major League Umpire” and “Memorable World Series Moments.” All profits go to the Illinois Veterans Foundation