Johnny “Big Jawn” Mize, WWII Service and His Elusive Signature

The Dodgers were and still are my all-time favorite baseball team if not of all professional sports. With the Red Sox being a close second to the “Blue Crew,” I experienced a bit of a dream (and nightmare) World Series in 2018 where it was a difficulty for me choose the team that I wanted to win the most between the two clubs as they faced each other in  the championship. In 1991 when I made made my first trip to Cooperstown, New York to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame, I was astounded to artifacts from my favorite teams including items from men who played in the first World Series meeting (in 1916) between my two favorite teams. That visit to the Hall of Fame also stirred within me a desire to pursue other facets (besides sports cards) of the collecting hobby, namely autographs.

After visiting the Hall of Fame Museum, I walked around the small village and patronized a small shop that seemed more like an extension of the museum than a store as it was filled with antique baseball memorabilia ranging from autographed baseballs, photographs, bats and other artifacts dating from the 1920s through the 1950s and up to (then) present day. Clearly this business’ clientele was more well-heeled than an active-duty sailor in the U.S. Navy as I could scarcely afford to make a purchase of a baseball artifact. Motivated by the overwhelming inventory of autographed memorabilia, one piece in the store did manage to catch and hold my attention, hatching an idea for me to pursue an area of collecting that I never previously gave much thought. Without any sort of hesitation, I purchased a copy of The Sport Americana Series Baseball Address List by R. J. Smalling and started to make a list of players from the “golden era” of the game that I would target for signatures.

My visit to Cooperstown left a lasting impact on me that punched a few holes in my Dodger-blue colored glasses, leaving me with a significant reduction in my hatred for the Giants. I was able to see beyond the rivalry and recognize the contributions of the players from the game rather than to be limited by the myopia influenced by my passion for a team. This transformation translated into an activity that included writing to veteran players (Hall of Famers, included) and requesting their autographs on various piece that I would send to them. One such player was a big first baseman from Demorest, Georgia (where he was born and raised and returned to after his baseball career ended) who spent his entire career crushing Dodgers (and all other National League) pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants carrying a .324 batting average, an on base percentage of .409 while slugging .588 with and OPS of .997 and almost 300 home runs in ten seasons. His prowess against Brooklyn didn’t cease when he left the National League and donned the pinstripes of the Yankees. Mize faced the Dodgers in 10 World Series games making 23 plate appearances and batted .400 with a .600 slugging percentage and an OBP of .478 and was approaching the end of his career. It goes without mentioning that (as a Dodgers fan) I shouldn’t care for Johnny Mize or his signature.

Mize’s career was one that caught my attention both at the Hall of Fame and as I scoured my copy of the massive Baseball Almanac book (which I still have). What stood out to me among his impressive statistics was the absence of playing time (and stats) from 1943 through 1945. Admittedly, I didn’t know that Mize left his player salary and the life of sport for the uncertainty of life itself in order to don the uniform of the United States Navy. But that is what Mize did in March of 1943 following being notified of a change of status from 3-A (registrant deferred because of hardship to dependents) to 1-A (available for unrestricted military service) – at the time, Mize was the sole provider to one of his aunts however by 1943, the draft boards underwent a change in the way hardships were viewed, especially since fathers (sole providers for their families) were being drafted.

Listed at 6-foot-2-inches and 215 lbs., Johnny Mize was well above the normal sized sailors who served during WWII. Here, the former Cardinals and Giants slugger is being fitted for his undress blue uniform at Great Lakes Naval Training Station in late March, 1943.

This Navy publicity photo was taken in 1944 and used in promotional materials and game programs in the Hawaii Leagues. Mize is shown in his pinstriped Navy home uniform.

The Giants first baseman was purported to have a blood coagulation issue that precluded him from Army service. Reported by the Sporting News, March 18, 1943, Giants manager, Mel Ott mentioned that “he had heard something about John being listed clinically as a bleeder, “meaning that Mize suffered from a form of hemophilia. Cleared for military service, Johnny Mize’s eligibility was transferred from the Army and he opted to join the Navy. While undergoing basic training, Mize was picked up by the Great Lakes Naval Training Station Bluejackets manager, Lieutenant Mickey Cochrane, the former catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers. By the end of May, 1943, Johnny Mize was appearing in the Bluejackets’ lineup as they competed against regional ball clubs and service teams. Mize remained at Great Lakes and on Cochrane’s Bluejackets roster until being transferred to Naval Training Center Bainbridge (Maryland).  While he was playing for the Bainbridge squad, Mize fell ill requiring a break from physical exertion resulting in significant weight-gain during his convalescence. When he returned to duty, Mize was transferred to the West Coast.

Mize is listed on the roster of the Naval Air Station Kaneohe Klippers as they faced the Dolphins of the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base. This scorecard was originally part of the estate of former Philadelphia Athletics infielder, Al Brancato.

It is no accident that Specialist “A” 2/c Johnny Mize is listed at the top of the Navy team roster on this October, 1944 Army vs Navy Championship scorecard.

Team rosters from the 1944 Army vs Navy Championship Scorecard.

In February of 1944, Athletic Specialist 2nd Class Mize departed San Francisco Bay aboard the fleet minelayer, USS Terror (CM-5) and by late Spring, Mize was suiting up for the Naval Air Station Kaneohe Klippers under manager Lieutenant Wes Schulmerich, previously of the Navy Pre-Flight Training program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (see: Navy Pre-Flight Round-up: The Growth of the Cloudbusters Collection Takes Flight). Though Mize’s impact would be felt, he battled injury for a fair portion of the 1944 season which led to his omission, along with that of the 7th Army Air Force’s Joe DiMaggio, from the Central Pacific All-Stars team due to reduced playing time. Both Mize and DiMaggio joined their respective branch’s All Stars team for the Army-Navy World Series held throughout the Hawaiian Island from September 22 to October 15, 1944 (see: Keeping Score of Major Leaguers Serving in the Pacific and Game 7 – Navy vs Army All-Stars Championship Series, October 1, 1944).

One of the most potent line-ups in baseball history, this 1944 Navy All-Stars squad demoralized its Army counterpart in the 1944 Championship in the Hawaiian Islands in that fall. Johnny Mize is pictured in the back row, sixth from the left. Mark Southerland Collection.

In this photo from the estate of Yankees Hall of Fame catcher, Bill Dickey, Mize poses at Furlong Field with other Navy stars from the Major Leagues. Shown, left to right are: George “Skeets” Dickey, Johnny Vander Meer, Pee Wee Reese, unknown (possibly Earle Vida in the fedora), Johnny Mize and Bill Dickey. Mark Southerland Collection

 

In his first two seasons of service team baseball (with the Bluejackets of Great Lakes and the Klippers), Mize didn’t slack off with his offensive production. In 1944 Mize was limited in his plate appearances at NAS Kaneohe due to a lingering injury.*

Year	Club	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	Avg
1943	Great Lakes	251	68	105		8	11	103	.418
1944	Kaneohe	70	11	22	4	0	6	19	.314
	Totals	321	79	127	4	8	17	122	.396

In early 1945, LT. Bill Dickey tabbed Mize for duty in the Western Pacific participating with other professional ball players (serving in the Navy) in a goodwill and morale-boosting tour. Servicemen on at Eniwetok, Kwajalein, Saipan, Guam, the Philippines, Admiralty Islands, New Guinea and Peleliu would be able to enjoy games being played between teams from the “Third” and “Fifth” Fleets (see: 1945 3rd Fleet vs 5th Fleet – Pacific Tour).  With the main thrust of the Pacific offensive being fought in places such as Iwo Jima, Mize and his teammates found themselves on islands that still had an enemy presence. It was not uncommon for a Japanese sniper round to reach close proximity of a ball field.

In this Navy Department photo, Johnny Mize is seen in the back row, just to the left of center, posing among the members of both the Third and Fifth Fleet teams. This image was taken during the Tour of the Pacific in the Spring of 1945.

This very rare and rudimentary scorecard was distributed for a March, 1945 game that featured the the two teams (“3rd” and “5th Fleet”) from the Navy’s Pacific Tour. The game was played at Valor Field on the island of Peleliu.

Within a few weeks following the unconditional surrender of the Japanese, Mize was making his way back to the United States mainland and would be discharged from active duty in time to make an appearance as a spectator at the 1945 World Series between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs. It was noted by several reporters, ball players and coaches that Mize had dropped a significant amount of weight and appeared to be in top physical condition. Questioned about his health, Mize recounted his 1945 season of playing baseball five days a week for several months leading up to his separation from the Navy. Mize settled back into the routine of baseball with the Giants for the 1946 season, resuming his Hall of Fame career with a productive season despite his production drop from his 1942 season. In 1947, Mize led the National League in runs scored (137), runs batted in (138) and home runs (51), tying Pittsburgh’s Ralph Kiner. Despite Mize’s offensive prowess, his Giants finished in third place behind St. Louis and 13 games behind the National League Champion Brooklyn Dodgers.

Johnny Mize poses for a fan’s candid snapshot following a game in Hawaii in 1944.

While seated at my desk during a night shift at my last Navy duty station, I finished the letter that I wrote to the retired 80-year-old Hall of Famer, folded it and inserted the self-addressed and stamped envelope along with a few items for Mize to sign. I had no thoughts to the mortality of the immortal greats of the game until a few weeks later I learned that Johnny Mize had passed away and soon after, the envelope that I sent arrived in my mailbox was marked, “return to sender.”

Twenty five years later, I discovered a photo of Mize that, despite several flaws, caught my interest. The image was overexposed (either when the photo was captured or when it was printed in the darkroom) and has a discoloration blemish that is the result of improper darkroom chemical baths (the “stopbath” wasn’t fully removed in the rinse) leaving a residue that resulted in a dark patch on the surface of the print. The photo was captured by George Burke and might have been a cast-off print. Regardless of the condition, Mize, a prolific autograph signer, placed his mark on this vintage photo. It only took me a quarter of a century to finish what I set out to obtain.

Twenty five years after my attempt to get Mr. Mize’s autograph, I found this vintage photograph, clearly a cast-off of darkroom imperfection (underexposed and a dark spot on the top right is due to the chemicals not being fully washed at the time the print was developed), I was happy to add this signed print to my collection. That Mize is shown in his St. Louis uniform in his last season, there makes this much more palatable.

About the Johnny Mize artifacts
In addition to the signed photo, the Chevrons and Diamonds Collection has gained other Johnny Mize-related artifacts that include multiple WWII scorecards from games that he played while serving in the U.S. Navy. Also, we acquired three photos of Mize during his time in the Navy starting off with him being fitted for his service uniform (undress blues), a navy-veteran’s snapshot of the slugger in Hawaii in 1944 (see: Matching Faces to Names: Identifying Four 1945 Navy All-Stars) and an official Navy publicity photo that came from the estate of Philadelphia Athletics and WWII Navy infielder, Al Brancato. Two other photographs shown here (copies of the originals) were provided to Chevrons and Diamonds from our collecting colleague, Mark Southerland who obtained the original vintage prints (many of which are signed) as part of a substantial group of photographs from the Bill Dickey estate. Lastly, the photograph of the Navy team posed in front of the B-29 is a Navy Department publicity print.

*Mize’s Navy playing stats compiled and provided by Mr. Harrington “Kit” Crissey

Nowhere to Play: Wartime Veterans Turned Away from the Game

The over-arching theme of the articles published on Chevrons and Diamonds is focused upon artifacts from or associated with baseball within the ranks of the armed forces. Some topics, while heading in the same general direction, veer off the main road with side jaunts in an attempt to shine a light upon a related (but seldom, if at all, talked about) issue. Considering that this author is one of a handful of veterans with a career that began during an era in which no G.I. Bill existed and ended well-before the well-deserved Post-9/11 iteration, the subject of veteran’s rights and protections is a very personal concern.

As the 2019 season got underway, the Cincinnati Reds management embarked on their plan to recognize their organization’s history, recognizing the establishment as an all-professional baseball club – the first of its kind in the game.

 “The 1869 Red Stockings were the first openly all-salaried professional team in baseball history, transforming baseball from a social-club pastime to a professional game,” – Reds 150 Anniversary

Almost from the beginning, professional baseball players have been at odds with team owners and their contracts which included language that, simply stated, established exclusive rights, eliminating the players’ ability to negotiate with other teams when the term of their contracts expired. Known as the “Reserve Clause,” ownership held the rights to the players’ services until they either traded or released him, outright.  Professional baseball players didn’t gain any substantial traction against the Reserve Clause until 1969 following St. Louis Cardinals outfielder, Curt Flood, objected to being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies at the end of that year’s season. Over the course of the next six years, Flood would lose a legal battle against Major League Baseball but his actions awakened the players and they ultimately won their rights to free agency following another case brought forward by Dave McNally and Andy Messersmith that was decided (through arbitration) in their favor.

The establishment of free agency in baseball through the McNally and Messersmith decision was a significant victory for the players however for Curt Flood, his career was effectively over due to the legal battle, refusal to play for Philadelphia and series of troubles that plague him off the field. Flood never benefited from his efforts. “Flood’s legacy continues to benefit players more than ever, even if his name has been lost to history,” wrote Terry Sloope in his article for the Society for American Baseball Research.

Americans have had to fight for what is rightfully theirs since the years preceding, into and through the American Revolution. While the major league players didn’t have to arm themselves for a physical fight against their opposition, there was a time when veterans of the Great War, seeking what veterans from previous conflicts received from their grateful nation, stood against 800 law enforcement officers, 500 infantry and 500 hundred cavalry troops equipped with machine guns and six M1917 light tanks during their march on the capital. Ultimately, the police fired upon the protesting veterans killing two before the rally concluded. The 1932 Bonus March (as it was known) set into motion Congressional action that resulted in the 1936 passage of the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act. Seeking to head off subsequent issues with veterans of WWII, congress acted in 1944 by passing the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (or G.I. Bill of Rights) which provided veterans with several guarantees and protections surrounding education funding, home loans and employment security.

In the groundbreaking post-war film (that dealt with many veterans’ issues and concerns), The Best Years of Our Lives, one of the lead characters, Al Stephenson (played by Frederick March) is a bank executive who just returned from infantry service in the Pacific and was welcomed back to his job at his previous employer. One of Al’s tasks is to assess loan applicants’ risks and make decisions based upon their abilities to repay what is borrowed. After approving an application for a fellow war veteran, his judgment was called into question by his boss, Mr. Milton (the president of the bank). “Novak (the borrower) looked to me like a good bet…You see Mr. Milton, in the Army, I’ve had to be with men when they were stripped of everything in the way of property except what they carried around with them and inside them. I saw them being tested. Now some of them stood up to it and some didn’t. But you got so you could tell which ones you could count on. I tell you this man Novak is okay. His collateral is in his hands, in his heart and his guts. It’s in his right as a citizen.” This scenario demonstrated two sides of the issue faced by returning veterans in that those who wore the uniform gained an invaluable perspective and an ability to recognize characteristics that were overlooked by those who didn’t serve.

One of the themes of the film touched upon veterans returning to jobs that the held prior to their service during the war. One of the other principal characters, Fred Derry (portrayed by Dana Andrews), an officer who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces as a B-17 bombardier, payed a visit to the place of his former employment (a drugstore where he worked as a soda-jerk) to be told that the company had no legal obligation to give him opportunity to return to his job since they had new ownership. Derry’s reintegration struggles continued throughout the film.

With the passage of the peacetime Selective Service Act of 1940, it was stipulated that veterans were guaranteed one year of employment within their old jobs at their former employer. Major League Baseball adopted a plan that added some stipulations surrounding returning veterans as they were in a precarious position having survived the lean War years on the backs of players who were past their prime (having come out of or delayed retirement), injured or those classified as 4F by draft boards or with young players who had evaded the selective service draft long enough to contribute to a major league team (before their eventual conscription) having been accelerated to the big league level. General managers were faced with having to deal with players who, in many instances, hadn’t touched a glove, bat or ball in years and were nowhere near playing condition when they were discharged from the armed forces. In concert with the provisions of the 1940 Selective Service Act, baseball executives adopted a rule that stipulated, that vets, “were entitled to their old jobs for a trial period of 15 days of regular-season play or 30 days of spring training, after which the club could terminate the contract at its discretion,” according to Jeff Obermeyer  in his article, Disposable Heroes: Returning World War II Veteran Al Niemiec Takes on Organized Baseball.

To some, this may have seemed like baseball was recognizing the wartime service of its players by affording them a measure of protection for their return and potential reintegration into the game. In the “Golden Era” of baseball, contracts typically had no guarantees for the players. Aside from the reserve clause, players worked at the will (whim) of the ownership. According to the Obermeyer piece, more than 900 players at the AAA level (then, the highest of the minor leagues) and an even greater number of lower level minor leaguers were impacted by organized baseball’s stance on its veterans returning from serving during the war. These men were viewed as either too old or having lost their abilities to play at their previous level of professional baseball and so, were released from their contracts without being afforded the protections provided by both the G.I. Bill of Rights or organized baseball’s policy. Aside from the minor leaguers impacted, 143 major leaguers felt the cold shoulder of ownership and were terminated from their professional contracts out of compliance with the law. Despite the recent legal victory of former Seattle Rainiers infielder, Al Niemiec, these recently terminated returning-veteran-players simply moved on.

Bob Harris had a five-year major league career pitching for the Detroit Tigers (1938–1939), St. Louis Browns (1939–1942) and the Philadelphia Athletics (1942) before he joined the Navy. He took the Athletics to court in 1946 as he fought for reinstatement under the G.I. Bill. He ultimately settled his case and never played another game in the majors.

As the Chevrons and Diamonds collection continues to grow in both size and diversity with each new artifact, we are compelled to examine all historical aspects and the experiences of those who both played and served. When the game’s stars returned from the war, it was with incredible fanfare and celebration. In the first season following Japan’s surrender and when most players returned from serving, fans not only returned to the stadiums in droves (1946 attendance nearly doubled that of 1945) but profits soared. The game seemed to be on its way and the following year saw the beginning of the end of baseball’s segregation with Jackie Robinson’s debut. For men like 31-year old Joe DiMaggio and 26-year-old Ted Williams, the game simply paused as they spent some of their best baseball years with Uncle Sam. For players like Bob Harris and 27-year-old Al Brancato, their major league careers were over, despite still possessing the ability, talent and skills to play at that level.

The Chevrons and Diamonds collection contains pieces from the estates of baseball veterans who wore the uniform during World War II including items from Johnny Pesky, Chuck Stevens, Howie Haak (minor league catcher, major league scout) and (most-recently added), Bill Dickey. Each player has a story regarding transitioning back to the game following their wartime service in the armed forces.

Al Brancato enlists into the U.S. Navy just six days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Athletics owner and manager, Connie Mack was present at his induction. Brancato would see a handful of games during the last month of the 1945 season in Philadelphia but never played in the majors again.

One ball player who feel through the cracks and was left un-protected by the G.I Bill was Philadelphia Athletics infielder, Brancato. Due to his early enlistment into the U.S. Navy on December 13, 1941, “Bronk” was eligible for early separation from the service before the war ended. Four days after being discharged from the Navy, Al Brancato reported to the Athletics and remained on the roster through to the end of the 1945 season, appearing in just 10 games, making 35 plate appearances. Though he played baseball in the armed forces at times, it wasn’t consistent enough for him to maintain the level of conditioning required to compete at the major league level as he could only manage a .118 batting average with an on base percentage of .143 and lacked any semblance of power (.147 slugging and an OPS of .290). With the season’s end came a promise for the 1946 season from Athletics owner and manager, Connie Mack that would never materialize for Brancato. In the off-season, Mack sent the navy veteran down to Toronto.

During WWII while he was serving and playing baseball in Hawaii, Brancato was joined by his brothers (flanking him) for a brief visit when their paths crossed.

Because Brancato returned to the team in 1945, the terms of the G.I. Bill or rights were met but the spirit in which the bill was crafted was not. Al was on the active roster for the A’s for 30 days and the same number of games and was gone from the team before Thanksgiving. By the middle of the 1946 season, he found himself out of the Athletics organization entirely having been traded to the Red Sox and assigned to their AAA team in Louisville.

Researching a deceased player can only yield a portion of that person’s story; the external data, the documented history but falls well short of capturing the difficulties endured or the joys that life gave to them. The struggles that ensued for some ball players following their war service, in some cases, impacted them for the remainder of their lives. World War II veteran-baseball players are all but gone along with their stories.

Despite how (Al Niemiec,) Harris and Brancato, the hundreds of veteran ball-players and the thousands of returning men (and women) battled to resume their previous careers after being discharged from wartime service (with little or no success), their stories have faded in the ensuing decades. In acquiring artifacts and corresponding with colleagues, I am captivated and moved by these forgotten aspects of what our veterans endured both in uniform and when their service was no longer needed.

In one of the final scenes of The Best Years of Our Lives, Fred Derry finds himself among a vast field of retired wartime aircraft that were in the process of being scrapped, as he was awaiting transport to take him away from his hometown that seemingly no longer had room for him. Dealing with the traumatic flashbacks that plague him as he stares through the bombardier nose-glass of a decrepit Super Fortress, he is discovered by the foreman of the scrapping firm. The dialog that ensued encapsulates what is true about veterans;

Foreman: “Reviving old memories, huh?”
Fred: “Yeah, or maybe getting some of ’em out of my system.”
Foreman: “Well, you can take your last look at these crates. We’re breakin’ them up.”
Fred: “Yeah, I know. You’re the junkman. You get everything sooner or later.”
Foreman: “This is no junk. We’re using this material for building pre-fabricated houses.”
Fred: “You don’t need any help, do ya?”
Foreman: “Out of a job?”
Fred: “That’s it.”
Foreman: “I see. One of the fallen angels of the Air Force. Well, pardon me if I show no sympathy. While you glamour boys were up in the wild blue yonder, I was down in a tank.”
Fred: “Listen, chum. Sometime I’d be glad to hear the story of your war experiences. What I asked you for is a job? You got one?”
Foreman: “Do you know anything about building?”

Fred: “No, but there’s one thing I do know. I know how to learn, same as I learned that job up there.“

In the years after his release from the Athletics, Al Brancato’s baseball career continued in the minor leagues and he continued to run his own sporting goods business (which he started prior to WWII). Brancato, like so many other WWII veteran ball players, moved on after the game left them behind relying upon the drive, determination and spirit that was (and still is) common among veterans of the armed forces.

 

Note: All photos used in this article are part of the Chevrons and Diamonds vintage photo archive. Both Al Brancato photos originate from his estate. The image of Bob Harris was acquired via online auction.

One Cap Fits All: Navy Blue Wool Service Team Baseball Caps

An integral part of a baseball team uniform to provide protection from the sun and to shield players’ eyes from intense glare, baseball caps extended into the ranks of the armed forces for daily uniform wear.

Keeping a watchful eye out for military baseball items may seem like an easy task to an outsider, especially when it comes to searching for uniform elements such as jerseys, trousers or caps. To those of us who have continually running searches that employ a wide range of keywords, hoping to find that one elusive piece that may have been overlooked by less discerning collectors, the task is a challenge. I have written in a handful of previous articles of the difficulties in finding the crown of the baseball uniform; the baseball cap.

• Marine Corps Baseball Caps: The End of My Drought?
• Game-Worn Baseball Caps of WWII: 3rd Air Force

A few searches of online auctions at any given time could, on occasion, yield a vintage ball cap within the results. However, knowing what to look for makes all of the difference in confidently acquiring a piece (especially if it lacks provenance). Studying vintage ball caps, whether from the minor or major leagues or from semi-pros and amateur leagues that operated in the last century will carry the prospective collector far when attempting to identify and date the items.

This ball cap is made from cotton material that has softened, most-likely due to considerable wear by its original owner. The bill is in fantastic condition even if the crown lacks its original form.

The blue wool flannel of the 3rd Air Force ball cap is vibrant and in great condition with the exception of two stains that might be removed with a gentle cleaning.

This poor Marines cap shows evidence of extensive wear and some damage in the bill. Despite what was done to the cap, it still looks great when displayed.

There are a handful of resources that exist (at present) online. One of them, the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown, New York shares photographs of examples of the artifacts housed in their facility. Perhaps the most invaluable online resource is MLBCollectors.com which provides incredibly detailed photography combined with dates and some descriptions for uniforms from every major league team which I use to evaluate designs, construction and manufacturer’s tags as known examples for comparison.

This dark navy cap was (seemingly) the standard across most service and unit teams. Here, former San Francisco Seals first baseman Ferris Fain wears the plain blue cap with his 7th Army Air Force (7th AAF) uniform in Hawaii in 1944.

To further the comparative analysis, our extensive vintage photography archive provides numerous examples of caps (and uniforms) worn by military ball teams and acts as a catalog of what to be on the lookout for.

The underside of the 3rd Air Force cap resembles most professional baseball caps of the era with the green underside of the bill and the leather sweatband.

Turning the blue Marines cap over, one can get a better perspective of the damage to the cap from moisture stains and the two holes in the bill.

The most consistent design used across all branches during WWII was a six-panel crown made of dark (navy) blue wool with a leather sweatband. Whether plain or with an emblem attached to the front panels, these hats were common throughout the armed forces service teams. In addition to what was seen on the military diamonds, caps were worn by some personnel within the ranks of the various branches as part of their working uniforms. From the outside of the caps, they can appear to be identical to those worn by players on the field (in some instances, these hats could be distinguishable by the presence of a military stock or supply number inside of the sweatband). Wool caps were standard military supply system-stocked item for aeronautical materials Class-37 and was available for appropriation in three colors; red, green and blue (the blue color was so dark that it appeared, in many instances to be black).

Aboard ship, sailors began incorporating the blue ballcaps for daily wear which is a present-day tradition (image source: U.S. Militaria Forum).

Naval aviators on shore-based commands were the navy ballcaps as part of their daily uniform (image source: U.S. Militaria Forum).

The 1943 Pearl Harbor Submarine Base team secured the Hawaiian Leagues title wearing the navy blue ballcap.

It is unclear whether the owner, a Boston Red Sox fan, added the red “B” to this cap or if it is Sox team cap. The Marine aviator added his unit identifier and had it signed by his squadron mates (image source: U.S. Militaria Forum).

Showing the underside of a naval torpedo bomber’s cap from WWII (image source: U.S. Militaria Forum).

In observing the many examples of service members’ caps, it has been noted that there are considerable variations that range from differing sweatband configurations, materials (and color variations) on the underside of the bill, manufacturers’ tags (ranging from military stock system, private purchase or none at all). However, from the topside perspective, the caps appear to be identical.

The cap shows a little wear, fading and mothing, but the overall condition is quite good. The bill stiffener is intact.

When a WWII-era navy blue wool ball cap became available, it was listed merely as a wool baseball cap that was part of a veteran’s estate. Discussion with the seller confirmed that the World War II veteran most-likely played baseball during his wartime service as there were Navy photo albums (not for sale) that held some images of the sailor in his baseball uniform (though I could only take his word). The cap showed some wear but was in overall good condition so there was no hesitation to bid on it.

This underside perspective shows that the cap was customized by removing the back section of the sweatband and installing an elastic band in order to keep the cap form-fitting.

The standard cap for most service and unit baseball teams during the war, some were fitted with an emblem on the front panels while most were blank like this one.

 

Resources:

• Navy ball caps: a brief history (Military Times)

Available Reproduction Ball Caps:

• History Preservation Associates – USN/USMC Blue Ball Cap
• WWII Navy/USMC Aviator’s Ball Cap (SM Wholesale)

 

Supply and Demand: Acquiring a 1950s U.S. Air Force Baseball Uniform

What does one write about as a follow-up to an article (see: “Talk to me, Goose!” A 1950s-Vintage U.S.A.F. Uniform Touches Down) that essentially covered the details surrounding the acquisition of two mid-1950s United States Air Force baseball uniforms? I could bore readers to the point of yawn-induced tears rattling off the finer details surrounding the construction and design of the second of the pair of uniforms that were acquired together earlier this year. Perhaps a better route would be to discuss the (non-existent) finer points of not having a shred of detail surrounding the veteran to whom this group of baseball uniforms once belonged? One glance at the front of the uniform’s jersey (the focus of this article) is the most-telling aspect as to why this opening paragraph is a blatant example of the author reaching for something, ANYTHING to discuss for this article.

Apart from the bright, contrasting colors, the front of the jersey is otherwise quite plain.

Richly-contrasting colors are part of what grabbed our interest and motivated us to acquire these uniforms (apart from their military use). As with the Goose AB’s red and cream two-toned jersey, this uniform set featured a two-color scheme that was not quite as elaborate. The jersey’s green shell is set apart with cream-colored raglan sleeves with a wide green banded collar that extends down to form the placket. The entirely blank front panel gives the uniform an otherwise bland appearance (in contrast to the Goose Air Base jersey). Across the back, however, is a different story.

The back of the jersey is where the magic appears as the white athletic felt lettering reveals the USAF command that the baseball team represented.

Representative of what a typical industrial baseball league team would wear, this jersey’s lettering is formed into an arch shape with the remaining letters (that didn’t fit over the top) forming a line that closes the open bottom of the shape. In creamy white athletic felt lettering, “28 TH SUPPLY SQD” that, as far as can be determined, refers to the U.S. Air Force command that was represented by the team. Unfamiliarity with the USAF’s historical command structure poses a challenge with researching the unit in order to determine where the squadron was assigned in the mid-1950s. Left to make an educated guess as to the unit specifics, the 28th was either connected to the 28th Mission Support Group, 28th Military Airlift or the 28th Bombardment Group. Further research into the unit identity is forthcoming and ongoing.

White athletic felt lettering on the jersey’s back.

White athletic felt lettering “SQD” (squadron) on the jersey’s back.

No doubt that collectors wouldn’t consider a supply unit as possessing the same level of interest that a front-line combat unit’s baseball team. Regardless, this (along with the Goose Bay) uniform is a fantastic addition to the Chevrons and Diamonds collection.

Powers Athletic Wear label, size 40 tag and what appears to be a vintage dry-cleaning tag appear inside the jersey’s collar.

Due to these both being stored within the same USAF-issued B4 garment bag that the seller (from whom these were obtained) purchased at an estate sale, it seems reasonable to assume that they originated from the same Air Force veteran. A thorough examination of both uniform sets yielded no names or personal identification stenciled markings. Inside the collar of the 28th Supply Squadron jersey is the only marking a white fabric strip with an ink-stamped, five-character alpha-numeric that is stapled directly above the manufacturer’s label. With all of the military baseball uniforms that we have seen over the past decade, this is the first with the “Power’s Athletic Wear” label.

The Powers Manufacturing Company in Waterloo, Iowa. Note the lettering of “Athletic Wear” is very similar to what appears on the uniform label (Image source: Google Maps).

Dating this uniform may seem to be a routine exercise of confirmation considering the verifiable age of the other uniform (that was grouped together in the Air Force garment bag), but it is a task that can further help in positively identifying the unit and possibly, the original owner associated with it. After a few moments of online searching the details of the uniform’s tag, we discovered the location of the manufacturer and found that the company was still in operation.  We reached out to Powers seeking confirmation and requested further details surrounding the uniform’s age. It is possible that the 28th Supply Squadron sourced their teams’ uniforms directly from the manufacturer due to their home air base’s (Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, South Dakota) close proximity to the manufacturer or their distributor.

Showing the collar and raglan sleeve seam.

This jersey has green plastic cat eye, two-hole buttons on a wide placket.

Adding two vintage U.S. Air Force uniforms to the stable in one fell swoop has filled in a gaping hole in the collection and addresses the (“what, no Air Force?”) questions that arise at public showings. As of publication, we are still researching to positively identify the command and hopefully, the ball-playing airman who wore these uniforms on the diamond.

References:

• 28th Logistics Readiness Squadron
• 28th Logistic Support Squadron

(Tropic) Lightning on a Ball: 25th Infantry Division Stags Baseball

With the signed baseballs that have landed into the Chevrons and Diamonds collection to date, we have enjoyed much success (albeit delayed) with research breakthroughs as we have identified names on each one. Though it took more than a year to fully identify all of the signatures, the 1943 Pearl Harbor Submarine Base team signed baseball has become a highly treasured piece in the collection. Though the research bear significantly fewer resulting details, the first autographed service team baseball that we acquired, the 1956 36th Field Artillery Group Rammers netted a series of friendly exchanges with one of the relatives of a team member and a subsequent news article (Chuck Emerick is remembered as a great baseball player but an even better husband, father and grandfather) from that player’s hometown paper (the Rock Island Dispatch – Argus).

Autograph collectors wouldn’t give either of the two signed balls in this collection much of a look as neither of them has the signature from a superstar ball player. To a baseball militaria collector, a baseball signed by a team of no-name GIs is invaluable.

The 1949 team baseball, signed be the members of the 25th Infantry Divisions team, the Stags.

The past several months have been an absolute boom to the Chevrons and Diamonds museum with a steady stream of artifacts ranging from uniforms (three fantastic uniforms including a WWII Coast Guard and a 1955 USAF set) to photographs and other ephemera. The arrivals have been nothing short of overwhelming. When a colleague contacted me to gauge my interest in an item that he had just purchased (it had yet to be shipped to him). When the photographs of the item began to populate my private messenger window, there was no hesitation on my part to affirmatively respond. When he offered it for the price of shipping, I couldn’t type., “I’ll take it” fast enough.

Though the ball is yellowed and faded, the makers stamp is visible on this panel.

Viewing each photograph of the yellowed horsehide, Wilson “Official League” baseball, not one panel was left free from signatures or writing. The inscriptions and signatures appear to have been signed using the same pen as the brown-faded ink (most-likely, originally black). Aside from the heavy fading, the ink has dissipated into the horsehide surface and rendered the signatures and inscriptions challenging to read. The most legible markings on the ball (besides the manufacturer’s stamps) read, “25th Div ‘Stags.’”

• Manufacturer: Wilson (“Made in U.S.A.“)
• Model: “Official League“
• Manufacture Date: Unknown
• Additional Markings:
  • “AX – (?)”
  • “RUBBER CENTER“

Four years removed from VJ-Day, the 25 Infantry Division was an occupying force in Japan. Established well before Pearl Harbor in 1941, the “Tropic Lightning” Division began engaging the enemy forces on Guadalcanal in late 1942 after relieving the First Marine Division and fought against Imperial Japanese forces at Cape Esperance, New Georgia, Vella Lavella and Luzon, sustaining over 5,400 casualties by War’s end.  Inscribed with the date of 1949, which means that the ball was used during the last summer of occupation and months prior to the Division being transferred to the Korean Peninsula in July of 1950 as hostilities were breaking out.

Not only is the handwriting in this inscription difficult to read but the faded ink renders the autographs nearly illegible.

The ink has faded rendering these signatures less than legible.

Some of the team members of the 25th Infantry Division Stags: Larry Jackson and Harold Fry are discernible at the top of the signatures.

I am only just beginning to research the details of the 25th Division baseball. A handful of cursory searches have not yielded anything of substance regarding the division’s team (the “Stags”) as of yet. It is my hope that I can source a unit or veteran group newsletter that might mention the team and players who filled the roster and perhaps, that might happen if this article is discovered by 25th ID historians or unit veterans (or their descendants) who might still be living.

Perhaps “Tropic Lightning” will strike for this baseball and spur the mysteries to unfold