Ted Williams being sworn into the Naval Reserve on May 24, 1942.
Posted on 04/20/2018 9:11:38 AM PDT by fugazi
On this day in 1939 in Yankee Stadium, a young rookie named Ted Williams makes his big league debut. He faces New York ace Red Ruffing, striking out twice but slapping a double as Ruffing shuts out the visiting Boston Red Sox 2-0.
Williams will spend three baseball seasons serving his country during World War II, earning his Naval aviators wings and then as an instructor pilot at Pensacola Naval Air Station (Fla.) for the Grumman F4U Corsair fighter plane. While he awaited assignment for combat duty, the war in the Pacific ended before Williams had to fight.
When war breaks out in Korea, the Marines recall Capt. Williams in 1952. He trains on the Grumman F9F Panther jet fighter and ships out with Marine Attack Squadron 311 (VMF-311) to Pohang, South Korea. Williams will often fly as wingman [...]
Also on this date in 1944, a B-26 Marauder flown by Capt. Elmer Gedeon of the 586th Bombardment Squadron is shot down while attacking a V-1 flying bomb site in France. The former Washington Senators outfielder becomes the first of two professional baseball players to be killed during World War II [...]
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Ted Williams being sworn into the Naval Reserve on May 24, 1942.
Chance-Vought built the F4U Corsair. Grumman built the F4F Wildcat and the F6F Hellcat.
Ted Williams was THE greatest hitter in the major leagues. Last player to have a season average of over 400 (hit 406 in 1941).
The other baseball player with MLB experience to be killed in WWII was Harry O’Neill (Philadelphia A’s). Like Gedeon (Washingion Senators), he was really a minor leaguer with very brief MLB experience.
Around 500 men with MLB experience served in WWII!
He was a better fighter pilot than he was a baseball player. John Glenn was his wingman in Korea.
O’Neil played one game I believe and served as a Marine officer. Fought on Kwajalein, Saipan, and Tinian before being killed on Iwo Jima.
My mother worked in Williams’office when he was stationed at Bronson Field, NAS Pensacola. She always spoke highly of him.
Yep. He insisted on playing both games of a double header on the last day of the season, even though he had to get hits in the second game in order to finish the season with a .400 batting average. AND he hit a home run at his last at bat in 1960. You cannot make up a story like that.
Heroes——and earlier today,on NPR,I had to hear “survivors” of the Parkland shooting discuss how they are coping,especially when “triggered” by something that reminds them of the event.
Unbelievable.
..
.
I read a book years ago written by a Naval Aviator during WWII, he observed that baseball players tended to gravitate to the Marines, he did not opine why.
Any guesses?
My father was in flight training at Pensacola when Williams was there. Both were USN aviators. My father, a good baseball player, played some with Williams on a Navy team. Dad said William was a legend even then and could hit a ball for “a country mile”. Dad later went on to combat assignments in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.In his later years Dad was walking down the street using a cane (he was old now), when a guy stopped his car and tried to rob him of his wallet. Dad took up his cane, beat the guy with it, broke out the back window of the muggers car,and then my father walked on and got his coffee.
We will NEVER see again such a generation. And it is sad to see so few left when they are so much needed.
Cool! My husband and I are huge Boston Red Sox fans (as are most of my large extended family). Ted Williams will forever be a legend among Red Sox fans... not just for his amazing baseball skills, but for his service during WWII as well.
Amen to that. Both my parents served in the military during WWII, as did seven of my uncles. Many of the wives of those uncles contributed to the War effort by working in factories "to free a man to fight". They all lived through the Depression before that. All were such good, decent, religious people.
Generally speaking... When I see the types of Americans (and illegals) that are replacing The Greatest Generation these days, it makes me sick to my stomach.
OOPs a correction to my memory. They were both at Chapel Hill in flight training to become aviators. Dad stayed in the Navy and Williams went in the Marines.
Baseball / WWII ping
All I can think of is a Major League Player that can hit a 90mph fastball has not only eye-hand coordination coming out the wazoo, but can control their consciousness level. They can summon it up just about whenever they need it.
We all experience it, but not consistently like they can.
I would think being able to React, Focus and Shoot quicker than the other guy is about the same skill set.
Race car drivers, especially at the F1 level have it and it lasts for hours.
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