He was born in Birmingham, Alabama, where his father Isaac Lee Dismukes was a deacon in a Baptist church, and his mother Sallie taught Sunday School.

[12] Among his achievements as a pitcher, he defeated the then-major league champion Pittsburgh Pirates 2–1,[13] in an exhibition game in 1911.

He spent a number of years with the Kansas City Monarchs, in such roles as traveling secretary and business manager.

[18] Later in his career, after major league baseball was integrated, he was a scout for the Chicago Cubs and then the New York Yankees.

[21] At age 62, Dismukes received votes listing him on the 1952 Pittsburgh Courier player-voted poll of the Negro leagues' best players ever.