 Born in Los Angeles, Dapper began his baseball career at age 18 for the Class-B Bellingham Chinooks in the Western International League.With many players unavailable due to World War II, Dapper got his shot at the majors in April 1942, appearing in eight games for Brooklyn.He recorded eight hits in 17 at-bats for a .471 batting average, including a home run, one double, two runs and nine RBI.