A few days ago, we celebrated Veterans Day. A day that we thank those who have served our country over the years. Protecting the freedoms we have all come to cherish. In a couple of weeks, the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor will be observed. There are not many still alive who remember that day and even fewer who survived it.
What followed over the next 4 years was a massive war that engulfed almost every continent. The continental US was such a distant target that our enemies really never had a chance to inflict a lot of damage to our shores. Although there were a few acts of sabotage, also American shipping suffered not far off of the Atlantic coastline. But the Pacific coast was relatively untouched.
Baseball’s hierarchy wondered if the game should stop because of the war. A similar question had been asked during WWI. Then-President Wilson asked that they keep playing. Baseball was a huge morale booster. FDR did the same thing as WWII began for the US in earnest.
As the 1942 season started it was expected that some players would be drafted, others, with families and such would get deferments. Some would opt to enlist. The Dodgers were not directly affected in 42. Their star players were there for the entire season. The real impact of the war would be felt in the following years.
Some, like Dolph Camilli, were older and less likely to serve. Reese and Reiser were the youngsters of the team, both 23 years old in 42, so there was a decent chance both would be called. Eventually, both enlisted Reese in the Navy and Reiser in the Army.
To keep the game up and running, old stars returned to fill up the ranks, along with some AAAA players who had never quite made it to the majors. 40-year-old Paul Waner joined Brooklyn in 43 and played in 82 games hitting .311. Johnny Cooney, who was 42, got into 37 games.
Bobo Newsome and Curt Davis joined the starting rotation at 35 and 39 respectively. Newsome actually pitched pretty well going 9-4 with a 3.02 ERA. The Ace of the staff though was 35 yr old Whit Wyatt who posted a 14-5 mark with a 2.49 ERA. Also on the staff was 41 yr old Freddie Fitzsimmons. They finished 3rd in the NL.
In 44 it was more of the same. Waner and Cooney were both back. Waner hit .287 in 83 games. Cooney played in 7 games and went 3-4. Davis was back, but Newsome was gone. Wyatt had become a reliever. The starting rotation added 18 yr old Cal McLish. They had their worst finish in years coming in 7th.
As the US’s involvement entered its 3rd year, 1945, the Dodgers added an old favorite to the roster, 42 yr old Babe Herman played in 37 games. Mostly as a pinch hitter. Babe was bad enough as an outfielder when he was young. Durocher even suited up and played in a couple of games. The team finished 3rd.
Another 40 plus year old who joined the team was C Clyde Sukeforth. Sukie was 43, and another C, Ray Hayworth, was 41. Davis was the only pitcher over 40. Roosevelt died just prior to the start of the season, passing on April 12th, 1945.
By the time the season ended, the war was over. Germany surrendered in May, and the Japanese in September. But it would take a while for baseball to get back to normal.
Players started coming back in 1946. Reese and Reiser were back. The oldest player on the team was 36 yr old Billy Herman. Curt Davis only pitched in 1 game. Carl Furillo, 24 yr. old outfielder secured the starting spot in RF. More vets would return in 47. And some of the young men would start to claim their place as starters for the team. Hodges and Snider and Robinson.
Some had seen combat, others had not. Reiser mostly played baseball for the Army. Reese played some but also served aboard a ship.
Players from other teams also returned. By 47 the game was back to normal. But the new wave was coming. Robinson broke the color line, and he was followed closely by Campy and Newk. Boston would be the last team to finally have a black player in their starting lineup. That happened late in the 50’s.
The Dodgers went on an impressive run over the 10 seasons following WWII. And their WWII vets led the way.
Discussion (23)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Good article bear, thank you very much, I wonder if you could do a narrative of the dodgers receivers through history, in special of John Roseboro, thanks in advance.
Most on here are very pleasant people. We all have opinions that some will disagree with. That is totally cool. I never have claimed to have inside information or a better handle on what might transpire than anyone else who posts here. What I do have is a deep belief in what I post. I do not deal in fantasy at all, so making up trades has never been a strong point. I leave those to Bum. He comes up with some pretty unusual ideas, most of which to this point have not happened. I would be happy for him if any of his predictions come true simply for the fact that he could say, nailed that one! But when I say something, I usually stick to my guns. If what I said turns out wrong, I will own it. I do not try to shove my opinions down someone’s throat. And if they have solid info to back up what they think, I am okay with that too. I do not have any kind of power on this site, although some have thought that. I simply try to write articles I think some might find interesting. I am not always successful. With Mark scaling back his involvement, getting it right is a lot more important to me. So, if anyone has any ideas for a post, or a subject or player they would like something written about, let me know. I will research it and see if I can get it done.
Taylor and Seager have 3 days until they need to declare whether or not they will accept the QO. MLB and the MLBPA have 16 days in which to make some sort of progress towards a new CBA or watch the old one expire. If it does, I expect the owners to lock the players out making negotiations that much harder.
The Dodgers have been in contact with the Reds about Castillo and Gray. The Reds are looking to reduce some payroll and might want to unload a contract, like Moustakas on the Dodgers. Both Castillo and Gray are under team control for 2 years. Depending on what the Reds might seek in return, I think I would do this deal. Reds might want a mix of some MLB ready guys and a couple of prospects.
Byron Buxton in CF and Mookie Betts in RF would make for exciting baseball. Yes, Buxton might only play 120 games due to his tendency for injuries so moving Bellinger to 1B to keep him in the lineup and to give the Dodgers a backup center fielder works for me. Maybe that means moving Muncy to 2B or 3B or trading him.
Thank you Bear
As I had written in an earlier story, there were many in the Dodger organization who served during WWII, including the club president, Larry McPhail. A lot of famous people served during the war. Some had combat experience, others were there for the entertainment of troops. Keeping moral up was a huge task, and baseball was a large part of that. Usually when an area was secured, they would set up a baseball diamond and baseball equipment would be brought in. Ted Williams, contrary to what some believe did not fly combat missions in WWII. He was a flight training officer, But in the Korean War, Ted flew a lot of missions in his Panther jet. James Stewart, the actor, was a bomber pilot during WWII. He rose to the rank of Colonel. He stayed in the Air Force Reserve after the war was over and when he retired, he was a Brigadier General.