R.I.P.
In his later years Feller sometimes came across as the ultimate "get off my lawn" cranky old man, but he was both a terrific pitcher and a fierce patriot.
R.I.P.
In his later years Feller sometimes came across as the ultimate "get off my lawn" cranky old man, but he was both a terrific pitcher and a fierce patriot.
"Hey...Dad. Wanna Have A Catch?" Kevin Costner in "Field Of Dreams."
One of the best. I always liked how he never blamed being in WWII for his career records being less than what they would have been if he had not gone to war. He was very proud of his military part of his life and felt it was his duty to go. But if not for WWII he would have won over 300 games and easily passed 3,000 strikeouts. R.I.P. Bob Feller
Reds Fan Since 1971
My source
Stirred by Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Feller enlisted in the Navy the following day—the first major league player to do so. He served as a gun captain on the USS Alabama, earning several battle commendations and medals.http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-obit-feller
"Boys, I'm one of those umpires that misses 'em every once in a while so if it's close, you'd better hit it." Cal Hubbard
The rose goes in the front, big guy.
Looks like we have conflicting sources:
In May 1940, Greenberg's baseball career was interrupted when he was drafted into the Army. One of baseball's highest paid stars, his salary dropped from $11,000 to $21 per month. In August, Congress decided that men over 28 years old need not serve, and Greenberg was honorably discharged. He planned to return to the Tigers the next season, but on December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the U.S. declared war. Greenberg was the first major leaguer to enlist in the Army, even though he had been excused from serving. While he could have had a stateside job as an athletic instructor, Greenberg chose to serve in the Army Air Corps in the China Burma-India Theater, where he had a distinguished record.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/...greenberg.html
Eric Stratton, Rush Chairman. Damn glad to meet ya.
Southworth like Joe Kennedy Jr. died in a plane crash in the service, this haunted his father and sent him into a spiral of boozing, he lost his job and was resurrected as the manager of the 1948 Braves, who happened to lose to Fellers Indians.Billy Southworth Jr, an outfielder with the Toronto Maple Leafs and son of the St Louis Cardinals' manager, was one of the first professional ballplayers to enter military service by voluntarily enlisting in the Army Air Corps in December 1940. "I think it's my duty to enlist because they're going to need us," Southworth had confided to his father earlier in the year. "My baseball career can wait."
The Des Moines Register has a nice page up for Feller with some various articles:
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/section/bobfeller
“In the same way that a baseball season never really begins, it never really ends either.” - Lonnie Wheeler, "Bleachers, A Summer in Wrigley Field"
The Baseball Emporium - Books & Things.
The Baseball Bookstore
http://tsc-sales.com/
http://tscsales.blogspot.com/
http://silverscreenbooks.com/
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |