Henry "Percy" Dawson served many roles in professional baseball.

He was a minor league baseball team owner, heading the Richmond Colts

Richmond Colts

The Richmond Colts were a minor league baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia that existed on-and-off from 1894 to 1953. They played in the Virginia League in 1894, and in another Virginia League in 1900, and another Virginia League from 1906–1914 and from 1918-1928...

 and Portsmouth Truckers

Portsmouth Truckers

The Portsmouth Truckers were a Virginia League baseball team based in Portsmouth, Virginia, USA that existed on-and-off from 1895 to 1928. They also played in the Piedmont League in 1935, when they were affiliated with the Chicago Cubs....

, and scout for the New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

, signing - among others - pitcher Jim Coates

Jim Coates

James Alton Coates is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. A right-hander, Coates pitched for the New York Yankees , Washington Senators , Cincinnati Reds and California Angels ....

. He also served as the head of the Yankees' farm system in the Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 area.

He also managed Richmond in 1925, leading them to a league championship.

While owner of Portsmouth, Dawson was involved in a dispute with the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

 over future Hall of Fame third baseman Pie Traynor

Pie Traynor

Harold Joseph "Pie" Traynor was an American professional baseball player, manager, scout and radio broadcaster. He played his entire Major League Baseball career as a third baseman with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He batted and threw right-handed...

. Red Sox owner Ed Barrow

Ed Barrow

Edward Grant Barrow was an American manager and executive in Major League Baseball, primarily with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox...

 convinced Traynor to join Portsmouth, saying that if the third baseman performed well there, he would join the Red Sox, as the Boston team and Portsmouth had a gentleman's agreement

Gentleman's Agreement

Gentleman's Agreement is a 1947 drama film about a journalist who goes undercover as a Jew to conduct research for an exposé on antisemitism in New York City and the affluent community of Darien, Connecticut...

, wherein Portsmouth served as something of a farm team

Farm team

In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...

 for the Red Sox.

However, the Truckers were still an independent team and, despite the informal agreement, were able to do anything they wished with Traynor, including selling him to another team. In September 1920, they sold him to the Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

, infuriating Burrow. "I hit the ceiling. I grabbed the phone and called Dawson and called him everything I could think of," Burrow said. Washington Senators

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

 owner Clark Griffith

Clark Griffith

Clark Calvin Griffith , nicknamed "the Old Fox", was a Major League Baseball pitcher, manager and team owner.-Biography:...

, too, was unhappy, claiming he thought his team would gain access to Traynor.

Incident

In July 1934, while business and general manager of the Norfolk Tars

Norfolk Tars

The Norfolk Tars were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1906 to 1955. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, they played in the Virginia League from 1906 to 1918 and from 1921 to 1928, in the Eastern League from 1931 to 1932 and in the Piedmont League from 1934 to 1955, and from 1934...

, Dawson was arrested, along with team manager Bill Skiff

Bill Skiff

William Franklin Skiff , was a Major League Baseball catcher who played in and with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees. He batted and threw right-handed. Skiff had a .250 career batting average. He was born in New Rochelle, New York and died in Bronxville, New York.-External links:...

 and pitcher Ray White

Ray White (baseball)

Raymond Petrie White was a minor league baseball pitcher and manager. He played from 1933 to 1940, going 55-37 in 170 games. Over the course of his six-year career, he threw 877 innings...

, for striking a police officer and resisting arrest during a squabble over a disputed home run call. He was neither fined or imprisoned.