2. Living Major League Veterans of WWII

Editor's Note: For well over a decade, British-based baseball historian Gary Bedingfield has researched and documented the careers (both on and off the field) of baseball players who served in World War II. In his most recent newsletter, he profiles with pictures each of the 73 Major League players still living. From Dick Adams to George Yankowski and all in between, their ages now average well over ninty years.

While the list includes some WWII-era players very familiar to vintage card collectors, many are not. There are three Hall of Famers (Bobby Doerr, Monte Irvin and Red Schoendienst) along with several who played in only a few games in the Majors. All are American heroes for their service in World War II.

The following is extracted from the introduction to the player-soldier profiles in Gary's January 2016 Newsletter, along with three example profiles.

As we begin a New Year, it seems a good time to look back and say, thank you, to the 73 former big league players, managers and coaches who served during World War II and are still with us. In total, about 1,300 players with major league experience (either before, during or after the war) were in the military between 1941 and 1945. Some were in the prime of their career. Others were starting their journey through the bush leagues, while still others would not begin that journey until the war ended.

At the beginning of the 1940s, baseball was truly America’s pastime. Major league teams drew capacity crowds on a daily basis and nearly 5,000 minor league players were fine-tuning their skills with 287 teams competing in 43 leagues spread across the country. But as Japan began to fulfil its territorial ambitions in the Pacific and German troops swarmed through Europe at an alarming rate, those halcyon days would soon be gone as the United States began preparing to defend itself in the face of inevitable war. More than 400 players in the major leagues, together with 4,000 minor leaguers, gave up their jobs, swapped flannels for military uniforms and went to war.

Of the 73 former big league players, managers and coaches who are still living, the youngest is Don Hasenmayer, who turned 88 last April, and the oldest is Mike Sandlock, who turned 100 last October. What I find hard to believe, however, is how little information there is available on these heroes of our game. I have a few of their biographies on my website, but the majority appear to have never really had their stories told. As a result, I have decided to produce this edition of the newsletter, featuring brief biographies on them all. So, here are the 73 former major league players, managers and coaches who served in the military during World War II and are, thankfully, still with us. There are three Hall of Famers, four African- Americans, one who made it to the big leagues as a manager and two who got there as coaches. Some served for a few months, while others were gone for as long as four years.

They were in the Navy, Army, Army Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine. They served in the United States, Europe, Pacific and the Far East on land, at sea and in the air. As citizen soldiers, they made sacrifices that are, to our generation, completely unimaginable. Gentlemen, I salute you!

Note: Examples for three of the 73 Living Big League WWII Veterans
profiled by Bedingfield are printed below, illustrated with selected 1950s baseball cards.

1950 Bowman Bobby Brown

Bobby Brown
Age: 91
New York Yankees (1946-1952, 1954)
Navy

Bobby Brown was at Stanford University when he enlisted in July 1943. He was assigned to a naval unit at UCLA for a year and then to San Diego Naval Hospital. In December 1944, he was assigned to Tulane Medical School as a midshipman and was discharged from service in January 1946. Brown made his major league debut with the Yankees in September 1946 and enjoyed eight seasons with the team, including four World Series. After baseball, Brown became a cardiologist and later served as the American League president.

1952 Bowman Monte Irvin

Monte Irvin
Age: 96
New York Giants (1949-1955), Chicago Cubs (1956)
Hall of Fame 1973
Army

Monte Irvin followed a standout high school athletic career by attending Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and starting his professional baseball career with the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League in 1938. He quickly became an all-star and jumped to the Mexican League in 1942, entering military service with the Army at the end of the year. Irvin spent three years with the 1313th Battalion, General Service Engineers. The battalion was in France and Belgium, where they built bridges and repaired roads. In late 1944, his unit was deployed in Rheims, France, as a secondary line in case the Germans broke through at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. Sergeant Irvin returned to baseball in late 1945, and remained with the Newark Eagles until he signed with the New York Giants organization in 1949. He made his major league debut with the Giants in July of that year. Irvin led the National League in RBIs in 1951, and was an all-star the following year. His playing days ended after 1956 due to a back injury. Irvin was elected to the Salón de la Fama (Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame) in 1971, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, and the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.

1953 Topps Mike Sandlock

Mike Sandlock
Age: 100 (oldest living MLB player / WWII veteran)
Boston Braves (1942, 1944), Brooklyn Dodgers (1945-1946), Pittsburgh Pirates (1953)
Army

Mike Sandlock learned baseball on the sandlots of Connecticut, and began his minor league career with the Huntington, West Virginia, Bees in 1938. He made his major league debut with the Boston Braves in September 1942, but lost the entire 1943 season to military service. Sandlock played 30 games with the Braves in 1944, and joined the Brooklyn Dodgers the following season. He played Triple-A ball from 1947 to 1952, and returned to the majors with the Pirates in 1953. He retired after a knee injury in 1954, and worked as a carpenter, while finding time to win the men's golf championship at the Innis Arden Golf Club in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, four times. He was also active in the Baseball Assistance Team, an organization that helps older baseball players that do not have health insurance and may need medical assistance.

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