
Bill Dickey and Lou Gehrig were Yankee teammates for 12 years. It was natural that the producers of Pride of the Yankees would enlist Dickey’s help to give the movie an authentic feel. To do so, the moviemakers employed sports agent Christy Walsh as a liaison to gain the cooperation of many baseball figures, among them the Yankee catcher.
In this letter dated January 27, 1942, Walsh writes that he is, “very happy to say that Bill Dickey has finally agreed to come out and appear in the Lou Gehrig picture. This is not yet to be announced.”
“…also consult Mrs. Gehrig by telephone to see if she if she has any reminiscence or suggestions regarding Dickey, particularly regarding his friendship and relationship with Lou.”
Walsh also writes of the arrival of Babe Ruth. “We are trying to have Bill arrive in Hollywood a few days before Babe arrives because, naturally Babe carries more news importance and we don’t want him to take the edge off of Dickey’s arrival story. This, of course, has to be handled tactfully because I don’t want to offend Bill Dickey.”
Dickey first appears on the film in a speaking part, trading laughs with the Bambino in this Academy Award-winning film. Later in the decade he would also appear as himself in The Stratton Story which likewise earned an Oscar. By doing so, Dickey remains the only Major League player to be in two Academy Award-winning baseball films.