Born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, and later attending Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Connecticut, Dugan went directly from the College of the Holy Cross to the major leagues. He made his major league debut at the age of 20 with Connie Mack\'s Philadelphia Athletics on July 5, 1917. Dugan struggled as a hitter his first two years, batting a combined .195, but in 1919 he batted .271, then the next year hit .322. By 1920, Dugan was being cited as the best third baseman in the major leagues. He was moved permanently to third base in 1921, and would be a steady .280-.300 hitter as well as a fine defensive third baseman for the rest of his career.\n', '

It was in his first years in baseball that Dugan acquired the nickname of "Jumping", a nickname bestowed on him since he would often take unauthorized leaves from the team. After committing a few errors, he was booed by the Philadelphia fans. Sensitive and temperamental, he would leave the team until Mack was able to coax him back. Word of his departure spread around the league and, he would often be taunted by fans with the cry,"I want to go home!"\n', '

In 1922, Dugan was traded by the Athletics to the Boston Red Sox. On July 23, 1922 he was sent by the Red Sox to the New York Yankees in a controversial deal. Red Sox owner Harry Frazee had been unloading his Red Sox players almost haphazardly, and Dugan\'s acquisition by the Yankees helped them edge out the St. Louis Browns in a tight 1922 pennant race. Because Dugan\'s trade occurred in the latter part of the season, and worried that teams might try to buy their way to a pennant during the season, major league baseball would later move up its trading deadline to June 15.\n', '

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