David Dale Alexander (April 26, 1903 – March 2, 1979), nicknamed "Moose", He was raised on a family farm that had been in his family since the 18th century. He attended Milligan College where he was an outstanding end and punter on the school's football team. He moved on to the Charlotte Hornets of the South Atlantic League, batting .331 in 1925 and .323 in 1926. After his 1929 season, expectations for Alexander were high, with some writers comparing him to Babe Ruth.
Detroit Tigers
thumb|190px|A [[trading card of Alexander from 1929.]]
On December 5, 1928, the Detroit Tigers purchased Alexander and pitcher Augie Prudhomme from Toronto for $100,000 cash and three players to be named later. In 1929, Alexander won the first base job with the Tigers, starting 155 games at the position. He compiled a .343 batting average, scored 110 runs, and led the American League with 215 hits. He also ranked among the American League leaders with 83 extra base hits (second), 363 total bases (second), 137 RBIs (third), 25 home runs (fifth), a .580 slugging percentage (fifth), 43 doubles (fifth), and 15 triples (fourth).
In 1930, Alexander started 154 games at first base for the Tigers and compiled a .326 batting average with 20 home runs and 135 RBIs. In his first two major league seasons, Alexander had 272 RBIs. Alexander also had the longest hitting streak of the 1930 season, a 29-game streak in which he had 41 hits in 121 at bats. He led the league in fielding errors in each of his first two seasons, but Alexander's exceptional hitting ensured he remained in the Tigers lineup on a daily basis.
In 1931, Alexander appeared in 135 games, including 125 games as the Tigers' starting first baseman and four as a starter in left field. He compiled a stunning .490 batting average in the first two weeks of the season. He then had "a long layoff" in May and June after a spike injury became infected. His batting average dipped to .325 by the end of the season. Though his numbers were less impressive than in his first two seasons with the club, he compiled a .325 batting average, a .401 on-base percentage, and 87 RBIs.
Boston Red Sox
On June 13, 1932, the Tigers traded Alexander with Roy Johnson to the Boston Red Sox, in exchange for Earl Webb, who had set a major league record with 67 doubles in 1931. Webb hit only 19 doubles for the Tigers in 1932 and retired one year later. Alexander won the American League batting crown with a .367 batting average in 1932. Alexander was the first of only two major league batting champions to be traded to another team in the same league during the season in which he won the title, the second being Harry "The Hat" Walker, who won the National League batting title in 1947, after being traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies, three weeks into the 1947 season. (In 1990, Willie McGee won the National League batting title despite being traded to the American League in late August). On August 6, 1932, Alexander broke up a no-hitter by Cleveland pitcher Wes Ferrell, who ended up with a one-hitter.
On May 30, 1933, Alexander twisted a knee in a game at Philadelphia. He was given diathermy treatment ("electrically induced heat" used for muscle relaxation) in the clubhouse by Red Sox trainer Doc Woods. Alexander's leg suffered third degree burns during the treatment, and gangrene eventually set in. "It was a new method of treatment and not too much was known about it", Alexander said, years later. "I noticed my leg felt awfully hot. I ended up with third-degree burns and a gangrene infection and almost lost my leg. I was finished in the Majors... I couldn't run and I couldn't field and when I got hurt, that was the end."
Alexander attempted a comeback but injured his leg again in July 1933 and saw limited action for the rest of the season, mostly as a pinch hitter. Alexander wound up hitting .281 in 1933 and played his last major league game on September 23, 1933, against the New York Yankees. The following month, he signed a contract to play for the Newark Bears in the International League. During the 1934 season, he appeared in 134 games for Newark, principally as a first baseman, and hit .336 with 123 RBIs, 14 home runs, 35 doubles, and seven stolen bases. He became the Blues' starting first baseman, appearing in 120 games in 1935. He compiled a .358 batting average in 1935 and set a new American Association record by hitting four home runs in a game against Minneapolis on June 14, 1935. In 1936, he appeared in 154 games for the Blues, including 153 at first base, and compiled a .315 batting average with 100 RBIs. During the 1937 season, he appeared in 153 games for Nashville, 153 at first base, and compiled a .319 batting average with 109 RBIs. He appeared in 140 games for Chattanooga, 137 at first base, and compiled a .309 batting average with 85 RBIs. Alexander appeared in 98 games as a player, 96 as a first baseman, and compiled a .345 batting average with 80 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He compiled a career-high .438 batting average in 56 games, principally as a pinch-hitter, for the Cloverleafs.
Tobacco farmer, manager and scout
Alexander was not associated with professional baseball from 1943 to 1945, instead operating a tobacco farm in his hometown of Greeneville, Tennessee.
He returned to coaching with the Knoxville Smokies from 1946 to 1948.
After resigning from Knoxville and continuing through the 1949 season, Alexander served as a scout for the New York Giants covering the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. He was assigned by the Giants in July 1948 to manage the Bristol Twins.
In June 1950, Alexander was hired to take over mid-season as the manager of the last-place Jacksonville Tars in the South Atlantic League.
After retiring as a manager in 1950, Alexander returned to his job as a scout for the New York Giants. He continued as a scout for the Giants for 13 years from 1951 to 1962. He has been credited with signing infielder Ernie Bowman, a native of Johnson City, Tennessee, pitcher Jim Constable, a native of Jonesborough, Tennessee, first baseman Gail Harris, a native of Abingdon, Virginia, and pitcher Joe Shipley, a native of Morristown, Tennessee. He has also been credited with spotting Willie McCovey who grew up in Mobile, Alabama, and began playing in the Georgia State League.
Family and later years
In the winter between the 1931 and 1932 seasons, Alexander married Verna Hutton from his hometown of Greeneville, Tennessee. He had two sons, Don and Steve, both of whom played baseball.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions