| rdfs:comment | - Dizzy Dean is a former NASCAR driver from Millers, MD. He competed in one Nextel Cup Series event in his career. That came in 1954, when Dean raced at Mechanicsburg. Starting positions in the forty-one car field are unknown due to poor records, but Dean only completed one lap before falling out with wheel issues. He finished 41st (last) as a result. Stats
- Dizzy Dean was a major league baseball player and Hall of Famer.
- Dean was best known for leading the 1934 "Gashouse Gang" team. He had a 30–7 record with a 2.66 ERA during the regular season. His brother, Paul, was also on the roster, and was nicknamed "Daffy," although this was usually only done for press consumption.
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| abstract | - Dizzy Dean is a former NASCAR driver from Millers, MD. He competed in one Nextel Cup Series event in his career. That came in 1954, when Dean raced at Mechanicsburg. Starting positions in the forty-one car field are unknown due to poor records, but Dean only completed one lap before falling out with wheel issues. He finished 41st (last) as a result. Stats
- Dizzy Dean was a major league baseball player and Hall of Famer.
- Dean was best known for leading the 1934 "Gashouse Gang" team. He had a 30–7 record with a 2.66 ERA during the regular season. His brother, Paul, was also on the roster, and was nicknamed "Daffy," although this was usually only done for press consumption. The Gashouse Gang, as the southernmost and westernmost team in the major leagues at the time, became a de-facto "America's Team," and members, particularly Southerners such as the Dean brothers and Pepper Martin, became folk heroes in Depression-ravaged America, who saw in these players, dirty and hustling rather than handsome and graceful, a spirit of hard work and perseverance, as opposed to the haughty, highly-paid New York Giants, whom the Cardinals were chasing for the National League pennant. Much like later sports legends Joe Namath and Reggie Jackson, Dizzy liked to brag about his prowess and make public predictions. Dizzy predicted, "Me an' Paul are gonna win 45 games." On September 21, Diz pitched no-hit ball for eight innings against the Brooklyn Dodgers, finishing with a three-hit shutout in the first game of a doubleheader, his 27th win of the season. Paul then threw a no-hitter in the nightcap, to win his 18th, to match the 45 that Diz had predicted. "Gee, Paul," Diz was heard to say in the locker room afterward, "if I'd a-known you was gonna throw a no-hitter, I'd a-thrown one too!" He also bet he could strike out Vince DiMaggio four times in one game. He struck him out his first three at bats, but when he hit a popup behind the plate at his fourth, Dean screamed at his catcher, "Drop it!, Drop it!" The catcher did and Dean fanned DiMaggio, winning the bet. Few in the press now doubted Diz's boast, as he was also fond of saying, "It ain't braggin' if you can do it." Diz finished with 30 wins, the only NL pitcher to do so in the post-1920 live-ball era, and Paul finished with 19, for a total of 49. The Cards needed them all to edge the Giants for the pennant, setting up a matchup with the American League champion Detroit Tigers. After the season, Dizzy Dean was awarded with the National League's Most Valuable Player Award.
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