Dennis "Bose" Biddle

Player Profile 

Nickname: Bose

Career: 1953-1955

Positions: P

Teams: Chicago American Giants, Chicago Cubs

Bats: Right  Throws: Right

Born: June 24, 1935 in Magnolia, Arkansas

Former Negro League Baseball player Dennis "Bose" Biddle was born on June 24, 1935, in Magnolia, Arkansas. Biddle's career in baseball began in 1953 when he was seventeen years old, when he played in the state championship in Arkansas for the National Farmers' Association. A scout and booking agent for the Negro League Chicago American Giants saw him pitch a no-hitter in the championship and asked him if he would like to try out with the Chicago American Giants. Once Biddle made the team he played for the Chicago American Giants from 1953 to 1954. Biddle was entered into the Congressional Record as the youngest person to play in the Negro baseball leagues, due to the fact he was only seventeen at the time. In 1955, the Chicago Cubs were interested in purchasing his contract from the Chicago American Giants. 

Unfortunately, on the first day of spring training, Biddle jammed his leg and broke his ankle in two places while sliding into third base. The injury never fully healed and Biddle’s baseball career ended early. His young playing career was only between the ages 17-19, yet while playing as a pitcher, Biddle earned the nickname “The Man Who Beat the Man Who Beat the Man” for a victory his first season over Lefty McKinnis, one of the few pitchers who ever defeated the legendary Satchel Paige.

At the age of twenty-two, Biddle went back to school in 1958. He received his B.A. degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin. Biddle worked for the next twenty-four years with the State of Wisconsin as a social worker in the corrections system. After retiring from the corrections system, he began working for a social service agency in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, called Career Youth Development. In this capacity, he continues to work with underprivileged youth and juvenile offenders.

In 1996, Biddle founded the organization, Yesterday's Negro League Baseball Players LLC to support the surviving members of the Negro League baseball teams and defend their economic interests.

Raed More: 

Dennis Biddle's Biography. (n.d.). https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/dennis-biddle-41