Posted on 06/18/2008 6:40:56 PM PDT by Borges
Bert Shepard, a World War II fighter pilot who was shot down over Germany and lost his right leg, but later pitched a game in the major leagues, died Monday at a California nursing facility.
Bert Shepard used a prosthetic leg to pitch in the major leagues.
Shepard's son, Justin, told ESPN that his father died of natural causes, 12 days short of his 88th birthday.
On August 4, 1945, Shepard pitched 5 1/3 innings of a game for the Washington Senators against the Boston Red Sox, allowing just three hits and one run. Injuries prevented Shepard from appearing again in the majors, but he was a postwar celebrity, thanks to appearances in army training films and newsreels documenting his achievements with a prosthetic leg.
For nearly half a century, Shepard did not know how he had survived the WWII mission that left him an unconscious and bloodied POW in a German hospital. In 1993, after he was contacted by an acquaintance of a former WWII German air force doctor, Ladislaus Loidl, the nationally syndicated "This Week In Baseball" program brought Shepard to Austria to meet Loidl and hear firsthand how Loidl had rescued him from his aircraft's wreckage. The show also brought Shepard to the farm in Ludwigslust, Germany, where he was shot down.
After playing and coaching in the minor leagues until the mid-1950s, Shepard worked as a safety engineer for IBM and Hughes Aircraft. The Indiana native also became an accomplished golfer, winning the 1968 and 1971 National Amputee Golf Championships.
He is survived by his wife Betty, three daughters, two sons and three brothers. Funeral arrangements are not yet complete.
Amazing how with 1940s technology he was able to pitch a game of baseball. Goes to show how far some will go to live their dream.
Jimmy Stewart played a one legged pro player in an 1947 movie. True story, but I can’ remember the guy’s name.
June Alyson was the wife.
What impressed me, was the automatic stove and dishwasher that he bought for his mother.
Rest in Peace, brave hero and pioneer. Prayers for your loved ones.
Right! Thanks.
RIP.
“The Stratton Story”
Think it either was just on or will be on TCM soon...
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