Playing for Their Nation: Baseball and the American Military during World War II

Conclusion

By the end of World War II, the United States had endured nearly four years of continual sacrifice and hardship to soundly defeat the Axis Powers. During those years, millions of Americans answered the call, fighting in every corner of the globe to preserve the institutions of the nation. With the armed forces swollen to an extent never seen before or since, American military officials had to adapt quickly to accommodate this mass of humanity and maximize its formidable fighting potential. An important aspect of the training and success of these servicemen was maintaining a high level of morale. On the battlefield, this was accomplished primarily through such time-tested techniques as propaganda and providing adequate clothing, food, equipment. Away from the front lines, sustaining morale became somewhat more vague and difficult to establish. During their extensive down times, men often engaged in such behavior as drinking, gambling, and soliciting prostitutes, all of which was difficult to regulate and, some felt, sowed the seeds of discontent. To redirect the energies of soldiers and sailors into more constructive activities military leaders turned above all to athletics. Because of baseball’s popularity among American fighting men, the national pastime was the logical centerpiece for the military’s athletic programs. By organizing teams of servicemen, officers aimed to inspire loyalty, camaraderie, and a sense of teamwork—all characteristics of high morale. Furthermore, whenever overtraining became an issue, military commanders utilized the game to preserve soldiers’ and sailors’ physical fitness without subjecting them to the tedium of repeated exercises. 143 Conclusion For these reasons, professional baseball during World War II entered into a high-profile partnership with the American military to supplement the war effort and promote the game within servicemen’s ranks. Contributing money and equipment as well as sponsoring exhibition games and tours by Major League stars, professional baseball organizations contributed financially to America’s military effort while simultaneously satisfying the baseball appetites of soldiers and sailors . Professional players themselves also emerged as a significant and highly visible aspect of the military war machine, and the majority competed on service teams or became symbols for their fellow Americans to follow. The absence of these players left a significant void in professional baseball for the duration of the conflict that was neither easily nor adequately filled by the athletes who replaced them. Indeed , the quality of the professional game dipped so dramatically during the war that owners often employed players deemed disabled by draft boards or those too old, too young, or too tall for military service . The situation was so dire, in fact, that the perennially incompetent St. Louis Browns won the American League pennant in 1944— the point at which the draft and enlistments had utterly depleted the rosters of big league teams. Upon their return, Major League players continued to feel the impact of their service through the decreased productivity they endured on the field. Although none had had to sacri fice his life, several players were injured in combat, and many more returned with four years of their playing prime gone and their physical skills commensurately reduced. Although any examination of the war years clearly illustrates America ’s fascination with baseball, those years also marked the beginning of the end for baseball as the true national pastime. Within a decade of the war’s end, football and other leisure activities had begun to erode baseball’s preeminent position in American culture. However, during the months and years indelibly marked by World War II, baseball rose to the forefront to provide inspiration, financial resources, and leadership for servicemen and civilians who needed them. Could the United States have won the war without baseball? Certainly. But the national pastime was so integral to American life that, just as certainly, without baseball many soldiers, sailors, and civilians would have felt that a key part of the America they were sacrificing for had been removed and everyday existence immeasurably diminished. 144 conclusion ...