Robert Bernard Dillinger (September 17, 1918 – November 7, 2009) was an American professional baseball third baseman who appeared in 753 games in the major leagues (MLB) from 1946 through 1951 for the St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox.
Born in Glendale, California, and nicknamed "Duke", Dillinger attended the University of Idaho in Moscow and played football for the Vandals, but broke his collarbone as a freshman in 1936 and was injured again as a sophomore; he left the school in the spring of 1938.
[2] He was signed by the Browns as an amateur free agent in 1939, then hit over .300 in three of his four minor-league seasons before his playing career was interrupted by World War II service in the United States Army Air Forces from 1943 through 1945.
[3] In 1946, the first postwar season, Dillinger made the Browns' MLB roster as the backup to veteran third baseman Mark Christman, starting 50 games at the hot corner and batting .307.
In the midsummer classic, played at Ebbets Field on July 12, Dillinger entered the contest in the sixth inning as a pinch runner for George Kell.
That day, despite his .309 batting average in 84 games, Philadelphia obtained waivers on Dillinger and sold his contract to the National League's last-place team, the Pittsburgh Pirates.