Dale was born to Thomas J. Dale, a bricklayer, and Sylvia Dale (née Kahlert) in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 16, 1889. He was the oldest of five children.\n', '

Dale began playing baseball in the semi-professional Trolley League in St. Louis in 1908. In 1910, he debuted in minor league baseball as a pitcher for the Dallas Giants of the Class C Texas League, which became league co-champions that season. He pitched to a 10–7 win–loss record in 204 innings pitched. Though the Boston Red Sox of the American League gave Dale a tryout before the 1911 season, he did not make their roster, and Dale returned to Dallas. After pitching to a 12–8 win–loss record with 179 strikeouts for Dallas in 1911, the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League (NL) purchased Dale from the Giants towards the end of the season. He made his Major League Baseball debut with the Cardinals on September 19, and pitched to a 0–2 record with a 6.75 earned run average (ERA) in ​14 2⁄3 innings.\n', '

The Cardinals returned Dale to Dallas at the end of the season, but reacquired him during the offseason. After Dale pitched to a 0–5 record and a 6.57 ERA for the Cardinals in the 1912 season, they sold Dale to the Montreal Royals of the Class AA International League (IL) that August. Dale pitched to a 4–6 in 10 games started for the remainder of the 1912 season, a 13–10 record during the 1913 season, and a 10–17 record in the 1914 season.\n', '

Return to Gene Dale Autograph Profile