Re: DDay Anniversary
A little history of D-Day and baseball. I shared it with the Diamond Club a couple of times. I do not remember if I shared it here before. I hope you will find it interesting and informative.
"You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you," General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
With the 79th anniversary of D-Day upon us, I wanted to look back at some baseball players that served and died in WWII. In the dark of the night, Allied Forces crossed the English Channel to hit the beaches of Normandy. On one of those ships off the coasts was Seaman 1st class Lorenzo Pietro Berra, an 18-year-old boy from St Louis, MO. Lorenzo's ship was stationed off the beaches to provide cover fire to the landing troops and take out any enemy aircraft. They were told to shoot at anything that fell below the clouds and, at one point, shot down an American aircraft. They would go on to rescue the crew and get an earful from the pilot. He ran messages from Omaha Beach to Utah Beach. He participated in the next attack on France and received a medal from the French government for his efforts.
Ten weeks later, on August 15, Lorenzo was in another heated battle. This time, the Allies landed in the Provence Region in the South of France during Operation Dragoon. Lorenzo was shot in the left hand during the invasion and received the Purple Heart for his injuries. Operation Dragoon was initially slated to be a second landing to coincide with the Normandy invasion on D-Day. It was postponed due to a lack of landing craft but was later initiated to relieve the congestion at Normandy. Finally, he was sent to Tunisia in North Africa before being sent home in 1945. Arriving home, he was stationed at Naval Submarine Base New London, Connecticut, and played semi-pro baseball for the base's team. He also played for the Cranston Chiefs after bribing guards to get off base.
After being discharged from the Navy in 1946, Lorenzo played minor-league baseball for the New York Yankee's AAA team, the Newark Bears of the International League. In 77 games, he batted .314, with a .360 on-base percentage and a .895 OPS. The team finished fourth and lost in the semifinals of the league's playoffs. In September, the Yankees called Lorenzo up, and he played his first Major League Baseball game. In his Yankee debut, he went 2-4 with a home run to right field in the fourth inning to help the Yankees to a 4-3 victory. He finished the season 8-23 with a .364 batting average and a .682 slugging percentage. In 23 plate appearances, he only struck out one time.
Lorenzo would be an all-star for 15 years and the American League MVP 3 times. From 1949-1955 he played with Joe DiMaggio and Micky Mantle, but Lorenzo would lead the team in RBI. His team's 10 World Series victories are still the most by any ballplayer. Overall as a player and or coach, he was in 22 World Series, winning 13. Despite those numbers, Lorenzo never made more the $65,000 in a single season.
By now, you should have figured out that Lorenzo Pietro Berra is Yogi Berra, the famed Yankee catcher known for his malapropisms. They were many athletes that served in WWII. Names like Ted Williams, Jo DiMaggio, Bobby Jones, Stan Musial, Hank Greenberg, Patty Berg, Joe Louis, and Jackie Robinson are among those that served. Golfer Bobby Jones was an intelligence officer and went to France after the D-Day invasion. Jackie Robinson was an officer in a tank unit. Famed women's golfer Patty Berg was a United States Marine Corps officer.
There were 305 known college, minor league, and major league players, along with Japanese pro players, Australian pro players, and Negro League players that died during WWII. Of the 305 men that died during the war, only two had played Major League baseball. USMC First Lieutenant Harry M O'Neill died in the battle for Iwo Jima on March 6, 1945. O'Neil played in only 1 MLB game, for half of an inning as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics, and did not have an opportunity to bat. US Army Air Force Captain Elmer Gedeon's plane was shot down on April 20, 1944, while on a bombing mission over France. Captain Gedeon also had a short stint with a Major League ball club, playing five games with the Washington Senators. He was 3 for 15 with a .294 on-base percentage and did not commit an error.
Three former Minor League baseball players died on D-Day. All three former players, Forrest V. Brewer, John Pinder, JR, and Elmere Wright, served in the US Army. Brewer played in the minors from 1938-1940, with his best season in 1938 when he had a record of 25-11 and a 1.88 ERA for the St Augustine Saints of the Florida State League. He made 41 appearances, pitched 297.1 innings, started 34 games, and had 28 complete games. He struck out 234 batters and walked 123. Pinder played from 1935-1939 before joining the Army. His best season was in 1939 for the Sanford Lookouts of the Florida State League. In 1939 Pinder had a 17-7 record with a 3.97 ERA. He pitched in 35 games, 211 innings, and started 22 games. He died on his 32nd birthday, June 6, 1644. Wright played from 1937-1939 four teams. His best season was in 1937, playing for the Mayfield Clothiers of the Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League when he was 7-7 in 21 games, 116 innings, and had a 3.65 ERA.
In all, 156 minor league players, 12 Australian National Team players, 52 American college players, 10 Japanese college players, 3 Negro League players, and 71 Japanese Pro League players. Who knows what may have become of their lives? I can only surmise that most would not have made a living in baseball.
"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all, but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." - J.R.R. Tolkien.
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Originally Posted by CajunVic
