Jay Hanna Dean was born January 16, 1910, in Lucas, Arkansas, but he grew up in Bond, Mississippi.

Jay and his brother Paul traveled throughout the Southwest with their father picking cotton for fifty cents a day. He won the nickname Dizzy from his offbeat brashness and good-natured arrogance. Dizzy once said, "It ain’t braggin’ if you can do it  ."

Dizzy joined the Army in 1927 and started pitching with a service baseball team. A few years later Dean signed a professional contract after being discharged from the Army. Dizzy made his major league debut on the final day of the Cardinals’ 1930 season. Dizzy giving up only three hits as he defended the Pirates 3-1. In 1932 he averaged twenty-four wins over his first five campaigns. He is also a winner of four National League strikeout crowns. In 1934 Dizzy pitched for a record of 30-7 the first and only to win thirty games in a single season. This successful year took him and his brother on to win the World Championship with the Cardinals.

In the 1937 All-star game Dizzy suffered a broken toe which led to an arm injury. The Cardinals traded Dizzy the next year to the Chicago Cubs. Even though he could not throw as hard as he once could, Dizzy still helped the Chicago Cubs win the pennant that year. He retired from baseball in 1941 and then embarked on a successful broadcasting career.

In 1953 Dizzy Dean was elected by 79.17% of the voters to be put into the National Baseball Hall of Fame . Dizzy living a successful career died July 17, 1974, in Reno, Nevada.