If you are a real baseball fan, you know the stories about Bob Feller and Ted Williams, of how military service cost them key years of their career. But did you know that two major leaguers were killed while serving their country in World War II? Or that Lt. Bert Shepard lost a leg when he was shot down over Germany and survived to pitch for the Washington Senators in 1945?
Or that Warren Spahn, a Purple Heart winner once played a German guard in the TV series Combat?
Authors Todd Anton and Bill Nowlin take us back to the time when the United States was at war. When putting on the uniform was a duty, even for athletes who could have taken the easy way out. Monte Irvin was poised to become the first African American to play in the major leagues. Because he chose to serve his country, Jackie Robinson beat him to the show. Hugh Mulcahy of the Phillies was the first major league regular to be drafted.
The authors have chosen to include some outstanding pictures of players in their military uniforms. Also, pictures of baseball games in the war zones from Australia to the European theatre. In additon, they take us back to World War I and provide insight into the gassing of Christy Mathewson which hastened his demise a few years later. What comes across in interviews with the living players, is that they do not consider themselves heroes. In their eyes, they were just doing their jobs. The young men who gave their lives were the true heroes. Also included in the $27.95 price is a CD containing exerts of some of the interviews conducted by the authors.
Rating: triple, thrown out at home. I really loved the book and the good job that the authors did bringing the players’ stories to life. The CD is a plus, as is the list of players who served at the end of the book. What got them “thrown out at the plate” was that they failed to include a list of the medal winners (there were MANY of them), and a list of the players by branch of service.
No related posts.
Leave Your Response