Drysdale, Don

Drysdale, (Donald Scott) Don

(1936–93) baseball pitcher; born in Van Nuys, Calif. A ferocious competitor, the tall right-hander won 209 games in 14 seasons with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers (1956–69). Nicknamed, "Big D," he became a television broadcaster after retiring from the game. In 1984 he was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.