Ray Dobens

{{Short description|American baseball player (1906–1980)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Ray Dobens |image=Ray Dobens, 1929 (cropped).jpg |position=Pitcher |birth_date={{birth date|1906|7|28}} |birth_place=Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|1980|4|21|1906|7|28}} |death_place=Stuart, Florida, U.S. |bats=Left |throws=Left |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=July 7 |debutyear=1929 |debutteam=Boston Red Sox |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=September 25 |finalyear=1929 |finalteam=Boston Red Sox |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Win–loss record |stat1value=0–0 |stat2label=Earned run average |stat2value=3.81 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=4 |teams= * Boston Red Sox ({{mlby|1929}}) }}'''Raymond Joseph Dobens''' (July 28, 1906 – April 21, 1980) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Boston Red Sox during the {{mlby|1929}} season. He was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, and attended the College of the Holy Cross, where he played baseball. The college's Varsity Club annually presents the Ray Dobens Award to its "most improved player."<ref>[https://goholycross.com/documents/2020/7/24//Honors_and_Awards.pdf?id=6871 College of the Holy Cross, ''Honors & Awards'', retrieved 25 May 2022]</ref>

Listed at {{convert|5|ft|8|in}} tall and {{convert|175|lb}}, Dobens batted and threw left-handed. During his MLB trial, he recorded a 3.81 ERA with four strikeouts and 28⅓ innings of work in 11 appearances, two as a starter. He did not have a decision. The 1929 Red Sox finished eighth and last in the American League with a 58–96 record.

Dobens was general manager of the Nashua Dodgers of the old New England League. The Dodgers were the first team in the United States with Black ball players. Branch Rickey of the Brooklyn Dodgers assigned Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella to the Nashua Dodgers in 1946 when Jackie Robinson was assigned to Montreal.

Dobens' professional career lasted three seasons. He died in Stuart, Florida, at the age of 73.

==See also== *Boston Red Sox all-time roster

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{baseballstats|br=d/dobenra01}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobens, Ray}} Category:1906 births Category:1980 deaths Category:Baseball players from Nashua, New Hampshire Category:Boston Red Sox players Category:Denver Bears players Category:Holy Cross Crusaders baseball players Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:New Haven Bulldogs players Category:Norfolk Tars players Category:Pittsfield Hillies players Category:20th-century American sportsmen