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5. Qualified to Serve: Major League Stars': Military Experiences during World War II
- University of Nebraska Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
By the conclusion of World War II, millions of Americans had served the Allied cause of halting fascism on the battlefields, in the skies, and on the seas. Among these multitudes of gallant servicemen were carpenters , mechanics, farmers, and engineers—as well as the vast majority of the nation’s professional baseball players. Before the war was yet a year old, the armed forces had claimed such diamond legends as Bob Feller and Hank Greenberg in addition to dozens of lesser-known players. Early in the war, The Sporting News adorned the front page of a May 1942 issue with a huge V (for victory) formed out of caricatures of the players then in the service. Feller, Greenberg, Hugh Mulcahy, and Cecil Travis were all depicted, a clear reflection that baseball was contributing mightily to the struggle for freedom. By the end of the war, the ranks of America’s fighting men had expanded to include Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, and Warren Spahn along with virtually ever other talented Major Leaguer, not to mention most minor leaguers. By the time the last shots were fired, approximately fiftyfour hundred to fifty-eight hundred professional baseball players in the United Sates had served in the armed forces in some capacity.1 These players, though a small fraction of the men who served, received a disproportionate amount of publicity and, at times, criticism during their military lives. It seemed to be an unwritten rule during World War II that Major League stars and other celebrities were to be exempted from exposure to dangerous situations. Although the death rate for American military personnel approximated 3 percent, no ac97 Chapter 5 Qualified to Serve Major League Stars’ Military Experiences during World War II tive Major League player lost his life in combat, and only a handful were injured. Moreover, many of these injuries were either training mishaps or noncombat-related accidents. This obviously preferential treatment evolved partly because, according to one author, Americans historically have “demand[ed] that our sports heroes serve and . . . foam at the mouth in our columns and statehouse chambers when they balk [yet are] not all that eager to put them in harm’s way.”2 For America’s professional baseball players more specifically, it was the decision makers who did not want to place these “sports heroes” in danger . Who wanted to be the general or admiral who authorized combat duty for Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams only to see them perish on a South Pacific island or over the skies of Germany? Despite the obvious favoritism granted to many Major League players , officials were determined to maintain at least a semblance of fairness and equitable treatment toward professional athletes. Former Major League pitcher George Earnshaw, the coach of the baseball team at the Jacksonville (Florida) Naval Air Station, noted that athletes there were granted “no favors.”3 At Great Lakes Naval Training Station, a hotbed for the accumulation of professional talent, officials revealed that conditions for its Major League players were a “distant cry from the luxurious big leagues.” Officers expected athletes to “hit the deck at 5 a.m. like any other sailor and put in a full day’s work before they report to baseball practice.”4 Likewise, a columnist for South Carolina ’s Greenville News insisted that athletes would not be allowed to skirt military duties for more pleasurable pursuits on the diamond.5 Such insistences must have seemed quite preposterous to one Phil Masi, an Army private from New York stationed at Fort Dix (New Jersey ) in 1944. Already in camp for over three weeks, he had yet to be assigned K.P. duty. Masi assumed that he was just fortunate to have escaped a task routinely rationed out to other soldiers, though he was not exactly sure why. However, the root of his fortune became apparent when a sergeant presented Masi with a catcher’s mitt and suggested he “get used to the feel of it.” When Masi revealed that he was not the Boston Braves’ catcher of the same name, and in fact was inept on the diamond, his luck soon changed—the following day he was assigned K.P. and within a week had been relocated to Colorado.6 The unwritten rules regarding the treatment of athletes throughout the war led some critics to suggest that they fostered resentment 98 qualified to serve [44.220.245.254] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 12...