Pitcher, Outfielder, Minor League Manager/executive
Born in Morgan City, Louisiana, Dyer grew up in Houston, Texas, where he attended what is now Rice University. He signed with St. Louis as an outfielder, first baseman and pitcher in 1922. He appeared for the Cardinals in 129 games over all or parts of six seasons (1922–27) — although 1924 and 1925 were his only full seasons in the majors — splitting 30 pitching decisions with an earned run average of 4.78, and batting .223 in 157 at bats with two home runs and 13 runs batted in. Sent to hone his mound skills with the Cards’ top farm team, the Syracuse Stars of the AA International League, in 1927, Dyer won his first six decisions, but in his seventh appearance he sustained an arm injury that ended his pitching career. As a player, Dyer stood 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) tall and weighed 168 lb (76 kg).
From 1928 on, Dyer would manage in the Cardinal farm system, continuing his playing career as an outfielder through 1933. In addition, Dyer served as business manager or club president of the teams he managed, and in 1938 he supervised all of the Cardinal farm teams in the Southern and Southwestern United States. The most important of these was Dyer’s hometown Houston Buffaloes, the Cardinals’ club in the A1 Texas League, and two stops below the majors. He took over as the Buffs’ manager from 1939 to 1941 and led them to three consecutive first-place finishes and one league playoff championship, averaging 102 victories. During much of the wartime period that followed, Dyer was director of the entire Cardinals farm system, although he left that post in 1944 to tend to his oil, real estate and insurance businesses in Houston.
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