Joe Dugan
Fun Fact
Jumping Joe Dugan did not get his nickname for his athletic leaping ability. Rather, due to his sensitive nature, he would take unauthorized leaves from the team for a couple of days if he felt insulted or attacked in anyway. Consequently opposing team fans would taunt the famed third baseman with cries of “I want to go home!”
When Connie Mack made a visit to the Dugan family to recruit the young baseball standout, Joe Dugan, Mack, himself the son of Irish immigrants, made a surprise recruiting visit thinking he could charm the family and made his pitch. Then, he left added incentive on the kitchen table in the form of five one-hundred dollar bills. The understanding was that when Joe was ready to sign, it would be with Philadelphia. Dugan, who enjoyed recounting the story, recalled his father’s jubilation. “For $500 you can take the whole family!” Joe’s father exclaimed.
In 1929 when Helen Woodford Ruth (Babe Ruth’s first wife) died in a housefire in Watertown, Massachusetts, the day of the fire, Babe Ruth was in New York working out at a gym in Manhattan. On Jan. 12, 1929, he received word of Helen’s death while at a party in the Westchester home of his teammate Joe Dugan.
Cemetery Information:
Final Resting Place:
Mount Calvary Cemetery
366 Cummins Highway
Roslindale, Massachusetts, 02131
USA
North America
Map:
Grave Location:
Section 19, Grave 241Grave Location Description
From Cummins Highway turn at the office onto Mt. Calvary Avenue and take the second entrance on your right. Park near the entrance and that is Section 19 bordering Consecration Avenue. Walk approximately 12 rows up the center of Section 19 (it’s a narrow strip of graves) and you will easily find Jumping Joe Dugan’s final resting place.