Major League Baseball Player. A second baseman, he is remembered for his five seasons with the Braves during the mid 1950s. Raised in eastern Iowa, he was a star athlete at Elkander High School then moved-on to the University of Iowa. With the Hawkeyes he won a total of nine athletic letters in baseball, football and basketball, capturing second team All-America honors in baseball. Signed by the Boston Braves in 1950, he made his Major League debut on June 17, 1952. In 1953 Dittmer followed the Braves to Milwaukee and enjoyed his best season, hitting .266 with 9 homeruns. He remained in Milwaukee thru 1956, then was traded to the Tigers; after playing the 1957 campaign in Detroit he spent 1958 and 1959 in the AAA Pacific Coast League, his final team being the Sacramento Solons. Over six years in the Big Leagues he played 395 games and batted .232 with 24 homers and 136 R.B.I.s. Upon leaving the field, Dittmer returned home where he worked in the family automotive dealership, taking it over after his father's death and managing it until 2009. Named to the Iowa Athletic Hall-of-Fame in 1993, he lived his final days in a nursing facility. At his death he remained the last Hawkeye to receive nine letters.
Major League Baseball Player. A second baseman, he is remembered for his five seasons with the Braves during the mid 1950s. Raised in eastern Iowa, he was a star athlete at Elkander High School then moved-on to the University of Iowa. With the Hawkeyes he won a total of nine athletic letters in baseball, football and basketball, capturing second team All-America honors in baseball. Signed by the Boston Braves in 1950, he made his Major League debut on June 17, 1952. In 1953 Dittmer followed the Braves to Milwaukee and enjoyed his best season, hitting .266 with 9 homeruns. He remained in Milwaukee thru 1956, then was traded to the Tigers; after playing the 1957 campaign in Detroit he spent 1958 and 1959 in the AAA Pacific Coast League, his final team being the Sacramento Solons. Over six years in the Big Leagues he played 395 games and batted .232 with 24 homers and 136 R.B.I.s. Upon leaving the field, Dittmer returned home where he worked in the family automotive dealership, taking it over after his father's death and managing it until 2009. Named to the Iowa Athletic Hall-of-Fame in 1993, he lived his final days in a nursing facility. At his death he remained the last Hawkeye to receive nine letters.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
Family Members
Advertisement
