Buttercup Dickerson

Lewis Pessano "Buttercup" Dickerson (October 11, 1858 – July 23, 1920) was a 19th-century American Major League Baseball outfielder. Born in Tyaskin, Maryland, he played a total of seven seasons in the majors, splitting time between eight teams in three different leagues. He is credited by the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame as the first Italian-American to play in the majors, but conversations with family members have called into question whether the family has any Italian ancestry.

Early life Dickerson was born in 1858. He is sometimes thought to be of Italian ancestry, but at least one historian and one family member dispute this notion. According to one of his granddaughters, he was born to William Porter Dickerson and Mary Larmore, who came to the United States from England, but who may have lived in Scotland before that. His granddaughter said that his middle name, Pessano, was given to him in honor of the physician who delivered him. She said that she was not aware of any Italian ancestry in the family.

Career In , Dickerson began his career with the Cincinnati Reds at the age of 19, and played 29 games in the outfield, but did not find himself a regular starting position until the following year. In , he took over the regular left field job after Charley Jones departed for the Boston Red Caps. That season proved to be his best in the majors; he batted .294, drove in 57 runs, and hit a league-leading 14 triples. in Baltimore. In 1979, he was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.