Sam Dungan

Samuel Morrison Dungan (July 29, 1866 – March 16, 1939) was a professional baseball player, principally an outfielder, but also a catcher and first baseman, for 16 years from 1890 to 1905.

A California native, he attended Michigan State Normal School from 1886 to 1888 and began playing professional baseball with the Oakland Colonels in 1890. After winning the California League batting title in 1890, he played in Major League Baseball for Cap Anson's Chicago Colts from 1892 to 1894.

He played six seasons from 1894 to 1899 for the Detroit Tigers of the Western League, led the team in batting each year, hit .447 in 1894.424 in 1895.372 in 1897, and won the Western League batting title in 1899. In 1900, he played for the Kansas City Blues of the newly established American League, compiling a .350 batting average to become the first American League batting champion. In 1901, the American League became a major league, and Dungan hit .320 (10th best in the league) for the Washington Senators. He concluded his professional baseball career playing for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association (1902–1903) and Memphis Egyptians of the Southern Association (1903–1905).

After retiring from baseball, Dungan returned to Orange County, California, where he lived for the rest of his life, having homes in Laguna Beach and Santa Ana. He was an orange grower and owned property in Talbert (now known as Fountain Valley) and Lemon Heights (now known as North Tustin). He died in 1939 at age 72.

Early years Dungan was born on July 29, 1866 in Ferndale, California. He was the son of boat builder Robert M. Dungan and Joanna (Jenkins) Dungan. The family moved to Los Angeles County in 1877 and eventually settled in a section of Orange County (between southern Santa Ana and Fountain Valley) known as "Gospel Swamp". When he returned from college, he played baseball for a team in Fairview, California, starting in July 1888.

Professional baseball San Diego and Oakland After starting the 1890 season with San Diego, Dungan joined the Oakland Colonels in March 1890. Oakland manager T.P. Robinson said at the time, "I believe Dungan is the best hitter we've ever had here." After one of his first games with the club, The San Francisco Call described him as "a great outfielder" and "a vicious hitter". He finished the season with a .332 batting average, 174 hits, 159 runs scored, and 65 stolen bases in 533 at bats. He was the batting champion of the California League with an average 17 points higher than any other player.

Milwaukee and Omaha Dungan began the 1891 season with the Milwaukee Brewers of the Western League. In late July, the Omaha club was reorganized, and each team in the league was required to release a number of players to the Omaha club. Milwaukee released Dungan to Omaha.

Chicago In 1892, Dungan made it to the major leagues with Cap Anson's Chicago Colts of the National League. He appeared in 113 games as an outfielder for the 1892 Colts and compiled a .284 batting average with 19 doubles, seven triples, and 15 stolen bases.

Dungan appeared in only 10 games for the Colts in 1894, as his batting average dropped to .231 in 46 plate appearances. During the 1894 season, Dungan compiled a .447 batting average for Detroit, 76 points higher than the second best hitter on the club.

Dungan remained with the Detroit baseball club for six years from 1894 to 1899 and appeared in every game played by the club from 1895 to 1899. 1897 (.372), and finished second in 1894, third in 1895, sixth in 1897, and fourth in 1898. Though generally not considered to be a great defensive outfielder, he also led all outfielders in the league with 42 assists in 1896. MacQuisten withdrew the criminal charges two days later.

Chicago and Kansas City Dungan returned to Chicago briefly in 1900, appearing in six games and compiling a .267 batting average.

Dungan played first base appeared in 112 games for Kansas City during the 1900 season. He is remembered as the first American League batting champion.

In 1902, Dungan reportedly discovered Gavvy Cravath while playing a game of Sunday ball in Southern California. Dungan set up a tryout for Cravath with Jim Morley of the Los Angeles Angels. Cravath went on to lead the National League six times in RBIs.

Dungan announced his retirement from baseball in January 1906 at age 39. Dungan later recalled: "I was fed up on baseball although I had one of my best years in 1905. I made up my mind I didn't want to follow the game indefinitely, limping from one place to another as my ability declined. And I had no managerial aspirations. So I just up and quit." The marriage ended in divorce; sources are in dispute as to whether Bodgard's request for alimony was granted or denied.

In 1900, Dungan was married to Laura B. Lippy. They had two children, Dorothy Eleanor and Myron Robert. He purchased 20 acres of land in Talbert, California (now known as Fountain Valley), in 1893; he leased the land for farming of potatoes, celery, beets, and beans. He also bought 12 acres in Lemon Heights (now known as North Tustin) in 1912. Dungan remarried in September 1933 to Lula Mary Lewis.

In March 1939, Dungan died at his home in Santa Ana. The cause of his death was a heart attack that followed uremic poisoning. He left his estate in equal shares to his widow, Lulu Mary, and two children.