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Frank Dawson Poteet

 

Date and Place of Birth: April 4, 1892 Madison County, TX
Date and Place of Death:    November 3, 1918 France
Baseball Experience: Minor League
Position: Pitcher
Rank: Corporal
Military Unit: Company C, 359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Division US Army
Area Served: France

Frank Dawson (known as "Frank", "Dawson" and "F. D.") Poteet, the youngest of seven children born to John and Florence Poteet, was born on April 4, 1892 in Madison County, Texas. A pitcher, he played for Italy in the Class D Central Texas League in 1914, appearing in nine games. The following year, his only appearance in professional baseball was a late-season outing with the Mexia Gassers of the same league, hurling 4.2 innings and allowing a hit and a walk while striking out five.

Mexia offered Poteet a contract for the 1916 and he was 8-3 in 13 appearances and was purchased unconditionally by the Fort Worth Panthers of the Class B Texas League. Within days of the Central Texas League finishing, Poteet was in a Fort Worth uniform and made two starts for an 0-2 record.

Fort Worth returned Poteet to Mexia for the 1917 season but, because of the war, the season only lasted 16 days. Nevertheless, he pitched five games for a 3-2 record and led the league in wins. He hooked up with Sherman of the Western Association later in the year but only made one appearance.

Dawson Poteet entered military service that year and served with Company C of the 359th Infantry Regiment “Texas Brigade”. Attached to the 90th Division, the Texas Brigade arrived in Liverpool, England before departing for the battlefields of France. Corporal Poteet took part in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive at St. Mihiel and was killed in action on November 3, 1918, just eight days before the signing of the Armistice to end the war.

Some years later, his body was returned to the United States and rests at Venus Memorial Park in Johnson County, Texas.

Sources:
Research conducted by Davis O. Barker
Temple Daily Telegram, May 31, 1916
Temple Daily Telegram, September 3, 1916
Mexia Weekly Herald, May 10, 1917
Temple Daily Telegram, May 30, 1917
Temple Daily Telegram, December 5, 1918

Thanks to Davis O. Barker for "discovering" Frank Dawson Poteet and providing much of the information contained in this biography.

Date Added: March 6, 2015

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