Category Archives: Autographs
A Sinking News Story: World Series Hero Gene Bearden, a Sub-Chaser and the Loss of the USS Helena
On October 4, 1948, in a single game, winner-take-all playoff for the American League pennant and a trip to the World Series, 26-year-old rookie left-handed starting pitcher Gene Bearden was about to pitch the game of his life for the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park. For three seasons, the World War II Navy veteran had ascended through the minor leagues to reach the ultimate stage, carrying a 19-7 won-lost record into the make-or-break game. Bearden was part of a starting rotation that included 19-game-winner Bob Feller and 20-game winner Bob Lemon, both of whom would be enshrined in Cooperstown.
Bearden went the distance against the Sox, surrendering three runs (one earned) on five hits while striking out six and walking five. Bearden also worked Boston pitcher Denny Galehouse for a lead-off walk to open the third inning and a lead-off single in the seventh off Ellis Kinder. He also reached base on a Ted Williams error, resulting in a run scored by Cleveland catcher Jim Hegan. Bearden’s 8-3 victory was largely due to the Indians’ big bats, resulting in three home runs by Lou Boudreau (2) and Ken Keltner.
“He wears a platinum plate in his head and right knee as the result of wounds he received in the sinking of the USS Helena,” the Associate Press (AP) reported following Gene Bearden’s October 4, 1948, pennant-clinching complete game victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. In a story that appeared in the October 5, 1948, Miami Herald and across the United States, the story of Bearden’s harrowing WWII experience was headline news. The headline read, “Bearden Didn’t Know What a Hero He Was” as the AP focused on his complete game, 8-3 win. The 6-3, 198-pound lefthander was asked if he knew that he had only allowed two hits over the final seven innings. “No, I didn’t,” Bearden replied. “I didn’t even know what inning it was.”
Circulating in other newspapers, the Associated Press story told of Bearden’s long road to recovery following the sinking. In the October 12 edition of the Tucson Daily Citizen, the AP reported that Bearden spent two years recovering and rehabilitating from severe injuries sustained during the impact and explosions from Japanese torpedoes striking the ship during the Battle of Kula Gulf in the early morning hours of July 6. “He still carries aluminum plates in his head and left knee,” The Daily Citizen reported.
Henry Eugene Bearden was born on September 5, 1920, in Lexa, Arkansas, and grew up in Tennessee. His baseball education came by way of sandlot baseball until he attended Technical High School in Memphis, graduating in 1938. After spending 1946 in the Pacific Coast League playing for Casey Stengel’s Oakland Oaks where he posted a 15-4 record, Bearden’s contract was sold to the Cleveland Indians, where he began the 1947 season. After his 1/3 inning with the Indians on May 10, surrendering three runs on two hits and one walk, he was sent back to Oakland for further seasoning. He finished the year with Oakland, where he posted another outstanding 16-7 record. His best season in professional baseball came in his first full major league season when he won twenty games for the Indians while losing seven with an outstanding 2.43 earned run average. His won-lost record did not reflect that he had a control problem as he walked more batters than he struck out (106-80). But it was in the post-season where Bearden’s performance against the Braves in the 1948 World Series was best. In the third game, he went the distance, striking out four Brave batters and surrendering just five hits. His control was laser sharp when he allowed one hit and walked just one man in closing out the sixth game in relief of Bob Lemon. Gene Bearden was one of a cast of heroes of the Series.
Bearden’s road to his October, 1948 triumph was lengthy. The 26-year-old rookie began his professional career in 1940 in the Philadelphia Phillies organization when he was just 19. At the class “D” level, Bearden posted an 18-10 record in his first season and a 17-7 record in 1941 with the Miami Beach Flamingos. His third season was split between Augusta and Savannah of the Class “B” Southern Atlantic League but he was limited in his appearances due to injuries. He posted a 4-4 record in just 13 games. Within weeks of the close of the 1942 season, Bearden reported to Navy Recruiting Station St. Louis, Missouri, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy on October 13.
Familiar with Bearden due to his 1940 and 1941 seasons pitching for the Miami Beach Flamingos, the Miami Herald reported on April 14, 1943, that Fireman Second Class, Gene Bearden had commenced a three-month, lighter-than-air ground crew training program at Naval Air Station Lakehurst, New Jersey. Upon completion of the program, Bearden could expect to be assigned to a Navy blimp squadron.
The catalyst for our interest in Gene Bearden was the acquisition of a team-signed baseball that was attributed to the 1953-54 Seattle Rainiers. Admittedly, before conducting the research on each of the signers, Bearden was nominally known to us. Learning about his experience aboard the USS Helena during her final battle was eye-opening and led us to investigate the pitcher’s wartime Navy service in greater detail.
As we delved into available information documenting the 1948 World Series hero’s service, we turned first to Bearden’s biography on Gary Bedingfield’s site, Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifice. His timeline lacked specific dates, “Bearden entered service with the Navy in 1942. He was at Great Lakes NTS and attended machinist school prior to being assigned to the engine room of the light cruiser USS Helena (CL-50).” However, the account of his injuries was described as follows: “As the crew abandoned ship, Bearden fell from a ladder onto the deck and was knocked unconscious.” Bedingfield’s account continued, “Bearden’s right kneecap was crushed beyond repair, the ligaments in his leg were badly twisted and his skull had been fractured. An aluminum cap and screw were placed in his leg and another plate in his head,” which seemed to be in line with the theme of the 1948 newspaper accounts. The Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifice bio concluded by saying of Bearden’s naval service, “He remained in the hospital until receiving a medical discharge in early 1945.”
Turning to his biography on the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) site, author Ralph Berger’s account of Bearden’s experience on July 6, 1943, included greater detail. “Machinist’s Mate Gene Bearden was one of the survivors. His head had been badly smashed open, and one of his knees was a mass of wounded flesh. Drifting in a life raft, he was picked up by one of the destroyers.” Berger’s account echoed what was mentioned in Bedingfield’s profile regarding the pitcher’s injuries, “For the next two years he was in the hospital, where a silver plate was inserted into his skull to fill up the part that had been gashed out.” Berger included an element to the story not previously noted in newspaper accounts or on the Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifice site, “and a metal hinge was inserted into his damaged knee. Baseball at this point seemed out of the question for Bearden. His war injuries would plague him the balance of his life.”
Searching for newspaper accounts of Bearden’s story yielded nothing regarding the USS Helena sinking, the wounds Bearden sustained or his long road to recovery. The Miami News reported on January 28, 1945 in a single sentence that Bearden received a medical discharge from the Navy. Throughout all the dozens of personal accounts from surviving USS Helena crew members published in the months following the sinking, not a single mention of the star minor league pitcher’s story could be located.
Turning to other research sources, we pursued official records, including such records as the BIRLS (Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem) file, Navy muster sheets, draft card, burial information or anything that could corroborate the details of the narrative about Gene Bearden.
According to Bearden’s draft card, he registered for the Selective Service System on February 15, 1942, with his local draft board in Memphis, Tennessee. Bearden listed his off-season employer, Atlantic C. L. of Waycross, Georgia rather than mention his previous baseball club. Bearden listed his date of birth, September 5, 1921 (one year later than his published year of birth) and rather than Lexa, Arkansas, he listed a different city in the state, Helena. His height and weight were listed as 6-feet, 3-1/2-inches and 194 pounds. His BIRLS record, created soon after his passing, listed his birth year as 1920 with the day and month matching his draft card information. The BIRLS record shows Bearden’s dates of Navy service as October 13, 1942, through January 4, 1945.
Gene Bearden’s stated birth location is Helena, Arkansas at the time he registered for the Selective Service (source: Ancestry.com). 
Bearden registered for the draft in Memphis, Tennessee. Note his height and weight when he was 21-years-old (source: Ancestry.com).
With the basic details confirmed, we sought muster sheets and reports of personnel from the USS Helena. In searching through the USS Helena’s extensive list of Navy vessel muster sheets on both Fold3 and Ancestry.com, we were unable to locate any mention of Bearden aboard the ship prior to the July 6, 1943 Battle of Kula Gulf. Recognizing that the digitizing process of wartime muster sheets has yet to be complete, we turned to the official reports submitted by the commanding officer of USS Helena, Captain Charles P. Cecil, to the Chief of Naval Operations accounting for the survivors, wounded in action (WIA), killed in action (KIA), and missing in action (MIA) in the weeks following the loss of the ship. Available in multiple locations, the complete lists have been transcribed for the USS Helena Association’s site and do not list Bearden among the survivors or wounded.
Rather than confirming the Helena story, the facts pointed us in a different direction as we began to question the genesis of the survival narrative. Returning to Fold3, we commenced a wider search and found Bearden listed among the commissioning crew of a Navy submarine chaser, the USS SC-1330, beginning May 29, 1943, as Fireman 2/c Henry (Hodge) Eugene Bearden, service number 669 71 81. The May 29 muster sheet listed Bearden’s date and place of enlistment as October 13, 1942, at Navy Recruiting Station St. Louis, Missouri. Since the SC-1330 was built by the Simms Brothers in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and placed into commission on May 29, 1943, the muster sheet shows that the crew was received aboard the ship from Navy Receiving Station, Boston.
Four additional muster sheets report Fireman 2/c Bearden serving aboard the ship until the final one submitted on October 8, 1943, when he was transferred to U.S. Navy Section Base, Mayport, Florida. Further researching the SC-1330, we discovered that Bearden’s ship was involved in a severe collision with a Coast Guard cutter during the time that he served aboard. In an official report following the incident, the following was published:
USS SC-1330 collided with the USCGC 83421, an 83′ Coast Guard Cutter, at 11:36 PM on June 29, 1943, in a position approximately seven miles north of Great Isaac Light, while both vessels were part of the escort of the SS Jean Brillant en route from Miami, Florida to Nassau, British West Indies. As a result of the collision the CG-83421 had two water-tight compartments at the stern carried away but remained afloat due to the remaining water-tight compartments, though its water-tight integrity was impaired. The crew was accordingly taken off and the vessel taken in tow by SC-1330. After being towed for about 2 hours, the CG-83421 began to sink in deep water, forcing the sub chaser’s crew to cut the towline. There was no loss of life nor serious injury to personnel. USCG- 83421’s commanding officer, ENS Lawrence E. Gallagher, was exonerated of charges resulting from the accident.
Fortunately, there was no loss of life in the accident but quite possibly there were substantial non-life-threatening injuries to the crews of both ships, including to Bearden.
Fireman 2/c Bearden’s transfer from the submarine chaser in early October further confounds the accounts published years later as the pitcher was added to the Mayport, Florida Navy Section Base Bluejackets baseball team for the 1944 season. Reported by the Associated Press and repeated via their wire service in the fall of 1948, Bearden spent the remainder of 1943 and all of 1944 hospitalized and recovering from life-threatening injuries sustained during the USS Helena’s loss. However, a U.S. Navy official photograph from 1944 showing Bearden with the baseball team adds further contradiction to the popular narrative. Unlike many service baseball teams, Bearden’s Mayport Bluejackets received extraordinarily little media coverage, making the researching of the team a considerable challenge. With an absence of box scores or detailed game summaries, we have yet to source material that provides more than scant game descriptions, let alone documenting Bearden in actual games for the Navy Section Base.
The image, a copied photo provided to us by wartime Navy baseball historian Harrington E. Crissey, Jr., not only shows Bearden among the players in uniform, but also affixed to the back of the photo is the caption slug that includes the names of the men shown in the image. Using the player list as a basis for a roster, subsequent searches for press coverage for the Mayport Bluejackets yielded a handful of additional 1944 newspaper articles for a few of the listed players, but nothing for Bearden.
When service members are discharged during wartime, it is usually the result of a few possible scenarios that include disciplinary action, medical disability or age (once the end of the war was no longer in question), as was the situation for Red Ruffing and Hank Greenberg. Bearden’s discharge occurred as the Battle of The Bulge was entering its second month in Europe and as several offensive campaigns were ongoing in the Pacific. The war still had no end in sight on January 4, when Bearden was separated from the Navy, according to the press, for medical disability.
On May 5, 122 days (about 4 months) after his disability discharge from the Navy, Gene Bearden pitched a 2-0 complete game shutout victory for his Binghamton Triplets (class “A” Eastern League) over league rivals, the Utica Blue Sox. Bearden would go on to win eight consecutive games on his way to a 15-5 won-lost record with a 2.41 earned run average, while batting .274 with a .425 slugging percentage and three home runs and being fifth on the team’s RBI leader board with 32. When he was not pitching, Bearden stood sentinel in the outfield for 23 games and managed a .954 fielding percentage. Whatever Bearden’s disability was from his war service, it had no impact upon his baseball abilities in 1945.
From 1945 until October of 1948 when Bearden’s incredible season catapulted him into the national pastime’s spotlight on its greatest stage, there are no mentions of his wartime ordeal in any newspaper accounts. He parlayed his excellent season with Binghamton into a jump to the highest level in the minor leagues with the Newark Bears of the International League when his contract was purchased at the end of Binghamton’s season. While out west with Oakland, when he demonstrated that he was one of the Pacific Coast League’s best moundsmen and thus garnered considerable press coverage, no stories were written about his ordeal on the Helena.
Searching through countless iterations of the 1948 Associated Press story, there are no direct quotes attributed to Bearden in any account of the events of July 6, 1943, that we were able to uncover. So far, we have no insights into the genesis of Bearden’s USS Helena story, his life-threatening injuries or the lengthy rehabilitation period.
In our research, we have found many instances of the press publishing inaccurate accounts or details surrounding combat events in wartime newspaper coverage. Perhaps to be the first with a breaking story, certain aspects of actual occurrences have been altered or inflated perhaps in an effort to infuse an element of headline-grabbing attention. One of our theories is that Bearden could have recounted to the press his account of the sub chaser’s collision with the Coast Guard cutter in 1943 only to have a reporter confuse aspects of the story with his hometown (Helena, Arkansas) to arrive at the USS Helena as the ship he served aboard during WWII.
To make the pitcher’s war record even more confusing, on October 9, 1969, Pulitzer Prize-winning sportswriter Red Smith retold Bearden’s wartime story in his column titled, “Kind of Ridiculous, Really,” describing Bearden as, “a rangy lefthander with a metal plate in his head and another in his knee, souvenirs of his Navy service in World War II when he went down with a torpedoed destroyer.” Milton Richman, a sports columnist for United Press International wrote in his May 2, 1976 piece, Bearden Keeps Soft Manners, describing the 1948 World Series hero’s life nearly 30 years later, “He’s general manager for Plaza Auto Sales in West Helena, Arkansas, but unless some customer starts talking baseball, he never brings it up, first.” Richman continued, “Another thing he never talks about is how an aluminum plate had to be put in his skull after his ship, the USS Quincy, was hit off Guadalcanal during World War II.” In articles written in two different decades, the details of Bearden’s wartime episode were altered by each writer. Did Gene Bearden relay the story differently to each reporter or are these examples of sloppy or lazy journalism?
As the Cleveland Indians made their return to the World Series for the first time since 1948 in 1997, then rookie pitcher Jared Wright’s performance (8-3 record with a 4.38 ERA) following his June call-up, along with his American League Division Series-clinching outing, prompted comparisons to Bearden’s outstanding 1948 achievements. Boston Globe staff writer Gordon Edes recalled how the Navy veteran pitched against the Red Sox on one day’s rest in a single-game playoff as the Indians and Boston were tied for the American League crown. “It was remarkable he (Bearden) had a career at all,” Edes wrote. “He served in the Navy and wound up with an aluminum plate in his head and screws in his knee after his ship, the USS Helena, was sunk in the South Pacific.” The narrative came full circle, with the 1948 version being carried forward to his more recently published biographical summaries.
Our discovery of Bearden’s World War II narrative discrepancy was uncovered amid researching a recent addition to our collection: a 1953-1954 Seattle Rainiers team autographed baseball. As our investigation of each signature progressed, Bearden’s published account became problematic compelling more in-depth research. Exercising caution to avoid undue accusations or to disparage a veteran who is incapable of defending his honor, our pursuit of the truth was born out of a hunger for verifiable facts. Our method of cross-referencing documentation from trusted sources rather than relying solely upon newspaper stories led us to uncovering the truth that contradicted a May 1943 heroic account about minor league pitcher and Navy veteran Donald Lynn Patrick.
Henry Eugene Bearden
6’-3’, 198lb
Born: September 5, 1920, in Lexa, Arkansas
Died: March 18, 2004, in Alexander City, Alabama
The Social Security Administration lists Bearden’s place of birth as the rural area of Lexa, Arkansas, while his Selective Service card indicates he was born 13 miles away in the town of Helena, Arkansas. That is a minor discrepancy. The 1930 Federal Census shows the Bearden family residing in the farming community of Spring Creek Township. His father, listed as John H. Bearden, son of Hiram Hodges Bearden and Sarah J. (Yow), was working as a brakeman for the railroad. Ten-year-old Gene was listed as “Henry H. (Bearden).” It is not clear why the initial “H” was used by the enumerator rather than “E” for Eugene. By the time of the 1940 Census, the Bearden family was relocated to Memphis. Nineteen-year-old Gene was listed as “Henry E.” and his father as “Henry.”
Bearden’s BIRLS data confirm his birth date and social security number with what is published by the Social Security Administration. They provide his both his date of entry into the Navy (October 13, 1942) and discharge (January 4, 1945) along with his date of death (March 18, 2004) and interment at Sunset Memorial Park in Walnut Corner, Arkansas, The Veterans Affairs (VA) Veteran Gravesite Locator confirms Bearden’s birth and death dates and includes his rate and rating; Motor Machinist’s Mate 3/c (MoMM3).
All five of the official U.S. Navy muster sheets submitted by the USS SC-1330 are cross-referenced with other data sources, confirming Bearden’s date of entry into the Navy (October 13, 1942) and list his service number as 669 71 81. Bearden’s rating is listed as Fireman second class (F2c), indicating that he worked in the engineering branch of the Navy and would have been assigned to the propulsion equipment spaces of his ship. In his MoMM3 rating as listed by the VA, Bearden progressed in his shipboard training as a mechanic assigned to maintain his ship’s twin 880bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines. The anomaly in the muster sheets is that each entry strangely lists Bearden’s name as “BEARDEN, Henry Hodge Eugene.” There are no other officially documented sources that mention this name; however, the pitcher’s paternal grandfather’s middle name is listed as Hodges.
This sheet is a Report of Changes for the USS SC-133- showing the crewmember’s service number, rating, date and place of enlistment along with the duty station from where the were received (source: Fold3). 
This September 30, 1943 artifact is a typical monthly muster sheet for an afloat command. (source: Fold3). 
Submitted the day after the SC-1330’s collision with USCG-83421 and lists Bearden among the crew (source: Fold3). 
This commissioning day muster sheet shows Bearden’s date reporting aboard on this day, May 29, 1943 (source: Fold3). 
This sheet shows Bearden (highlighted in green) transferring off the ship as part of a personnel swap with F2c Cannon. Also note Gunner’s Mate 3/c Gabriel Becerra (blue) who was Bearden’s Mayport Navy Section Base teammate (source: Fold3).
A simple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request would easily address the disparity between Bearden’s media-reported naval history and his actual service. However, a March 2020 government- ordered closure to the National Personnel Records Center has placed an indefinite hold on the processing of FOIA requests as well as closing the doors to the public. Prior to the forced shutdown, such requests were backed up to 24 months. Experts speculate that if the order were lifted today, the backlog would be nearly eight years. With no end in sight to the shutdown, the backlog of requests continues to grow.
When interviewing the veteran is an impossibility, turning to the surviving family members is the best option for seeking confirmation or clarification that cannot otherwise be sourced. Gene Bearden passed away in 2004 and his wife followed 18 months later. Bearden’s only surviving child, Gene B. Borowski, was left nothing from her father’s wartime service that would be helpful in corroborating our research. As is quite common among veterans, their family members are often left in the dark about their individual experiences during the war. “My dad never talked about his war service,” Ms. Borowski told us. Gene Bearden did not leave behind anything from his time serving in the Navy; not even a Notice of Separation (NAVPERS-553), awards and decorations or photographs.
In October 2004 as the Boston Red Sox sent Tim Wakefield to the mound in Game 1 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, it marked the first time that a knuckleball-pitcher was starting a World Series game since 1948’s Game 3, when Bearden beat the Braves with his fluttery pitches. The comparisons of World Series performances do not extend beyond the type of pitch as Bearden did not allow a run to score in his complete game. Though the Red Sox won their game (and swept the Series), Wakefield struggled to control his floating pitches in windy conditions, allowing the Cardinals to work back from a 7-2 deficit and pull within two runs before he was spelled by the bullpen in the fourth inning.
Like so many wartime ballplayers, Gene Bearden served his country both as a sailor and a ballplayer and performed the duties that were asked of him. He sailed into harm’s way aboard a submarine chaser in some of the most hazardous waters, providing screening protection of cargo and transport shipping in the Caribbean Sea.
Update: One of our readers sourced a few newspaper clippings obtained through a service that we do not have access to. These articles provided us with details that answered many questions regarding Bearden’s wartime service. See: Sea Stories and Tales of Survival: 1948 World Series Hero Gene Bearden’s Knuckling Narrative
A Hall of Fame Softball Greeting
The impetus behind Chevrons and Diamonds and our curatorial pursuits has always centered on baseball. That term, for us, is quite specific in that it simply refers to the game that was founded in the mid-nineteenth century and is centered upon a 9 to 9-1/4-inch, hide-wrapped and stitched sphere. All the artifacts that we pursue are connected to the history of the game. Some would argue that baseball’s younger brother, softball, is the same game. The debate is an interesting one but in terms of artifacts, the two are distinctly different.
Aside from a handful of artifacts acquired through gifts/donations, the Chevrons and Diamonds collection consists largely of baseball pieces. With the current market trends, pursuits of new items require greater diligence and patience as prices and competition have increased dramatically. Until recently, corresponding softball militaria remained conversely inexpensive, quite literally valued at pennies on the baseball-comparative dollar.
Softball bat, ball and glove prices have risen to a point of being cost-prohibitive. When listed at auction, the bidding can be fierce for pieces that six months ago sold for less than $25 but are now 10 or more times that price. Watching the bidding wars at such auctions is new for us as we were not previously interested in such pieces. When a colleague who shares a similar interest in the absurdity of the bidding sent a link to an auction listing for a wartime softball, I was prepared to follow it for the next several days to see how high the price would climb.
Wartime softball equipment is as diverse in terms of origins and manufacturers as that of baseball material. Pursuing such artifacts requires an amount of due diligence equal to what we spend when we find a prospective baseball artifact. The ball that was shown in the aforementioned auction listing matched what we had seen in the past dozen years; so there was no cause for concern as to the ball’s wartime authenticity. Based upon the $10 starting price, we knew that there would be a significant amount of interest and thus numerous bids. There was something odd about the listing that caught our attention as we were about to click the button to set a “watch.” An option to buy the ball outright was also provided and the price was the same as the starting bid. Without further consideration, we purchased the softball.
Within moments of submitting the payment, a sense of remorse set in, prompting a second look at the already purchased softball. In addition to the clear indications of use were what appeared to be three signatures on two of the ball’s panels. A closer inspection showed one to be that of former New York Yankees catcher Bill Dickey. The other legible autograph was quite clearly that of former Cubs and Dodgers second baseman Billy Herman. The third was not distinguishable and would have to wait for further examination.
With the ball literally in hand, utilizing proper handling techniques to avoid introducing substances such as oils from skin that could accelerate deterioration of the signatures or stamps, we examined the various markings. Paying close attention to the decayed signatures and comparing them against known, authentic autographs from Dickey and Herman that were signed in the corresponding 1940s era, we were able to determine that both were genuine. What was believed to be another player’s signature above Dickey’s looked to be a birthday greeting from the Cooperstown-enshrined Yankees catcher.
Three panels of the ball included manufacturer’s stamped markings including the brand, model and material composition. The maker’s mark, “Universal Sports Co., Empire State Building” was one that is seen on numerous balls; however, we were unsuccessful in locating a definitively matched company.
The “Day and Night” feature for softballs was common across softball makers. It enhanced visibility regardless of the lighting conditions. Unlike cork-center baseballs, many softballs had a center of kapok that absorbed the energy when hit, which limited the velocity and trajectory, helped to keep the orb within the field of play and thus made it more challenging to put it over the outfield fence.
The stamping on the ball that truly captured our attention was the one that indicated service use. Quite obviously applied with a flat rubber stamp (as noted by the heavier ink on the extremities), “THIS BALL BUILT EXPRESSLY FOR U.S. ARMED FORCES” was a departure from the more commonly used “U.S.”, “U.S.N.”, “Special Services U.S. Army” and “U.S. Army.”
The ball’s covering was quite obviously aging and the signatures had significantly faded. In-person analysis of the signatures removed any doubts that remained at the time of purchase. Confirming both Dickey’s and Herman’s writing, we started on the line directly above Dickey’s autograph and realized that it was not only applied using the same pen as Bill’s, but it was written by the same person. Rather than the writing being a signature, instead we noted that it was a birthday greeting that was also written by Dickey.
In the absence of provenance, it is our belief that this ball originates from World War II and can be further pinpointed to 1945 or as early as the last quarter of 1944 after Herman arrived at Pearl Harbor. In addition, we suspect that the signatures were applied while the two were serving in the Navy together on the island of Oahu.
Brooklyn Dodgers second baseman Billy Herman entered the Navy in early March 1944 after being reclassified as 1A by his draft board in early February. Rather than to face the draft, Herman joined the Navy and was sent to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station (GLNTS) for indoctrination and instruction. Soon after his arrival, Herman was added to the station’s Bluejackets baseball team by manager Gordon “Mickey” Cochrane (see: No Amount of Winning Could Ever Offset a Harsh Loss for Mickey Cochrane). Without missing a beat, Billy Herman found himself at home playing second base for the team whose roster included Schoolboy Rowe, Virgil Trucks, and Gene Woodling as well as his 1943 Brooklyn teammate, infielder Al Glossop. In June of that season, Joe Cronin led his Red Sox onto the Station to face the Bluejackets on their home field and walked away with a 3-1 loss. In addition to Virgil Trucks’ masterful 12-strikeout pitching performance, Billy Herman drove Trucks across the plate in the bottom of the eighth to leave the Bluejackets up by two runs heading into the ninth.
Many of Herman’s Bluejackets teammates were dispatched to Oahu in the summer ahead of the Service World Series against the Army squad. The future Hall of Fame second baseman remained with Cochrane and finished the GLNTS season. By mid-October, Herman was aboard a ship that was bound for Oahu but would arrive well after the 11th and final game of the Series.
Herman was not the only ballplayer making his way to the islands at this time. Arriving with the Dodgers second baseman were 33 players ranging in experience from major and minor leagues to semi-professional and amateur baseball. The talent included catchers Manny Fernandez (Dayton Wings), Bennie Huffman (Browns) and Frank Wolf. Pitchers included Johnny Rigney (White Sox), Bob Klinger (Pirates), Hal White (Tigers), Lou Tost (Braves), Lou Ciola (Athletics), Jim Trexler (Indianapolis Indians), Mike Budnick (Seattle Rainiers), Max Wilson (Phillies) and Frank Marino (Tulsa Oilers). The islands were getting a fresh stock of Infielders that consisted of Elbie Fletcher (Pirates), Connie Ryan (Braves), Al Glossop (Dodgers), Merrill “Pinky” May (Phillies), Johnny McCarthy (Braves), Frank Juliano, Gibby Brack (Montreal Royals), Tom Carey (Red Sox), Fred Chapman (Athletics), Sherry Robertson (Senators), Eddie Robinson (Indians), Mickey Vernon (Senators), Buddy Blattner (Cardinals) and Pete Pavlick (Erie Sailors). The outfielder contingent included Red McQuillen (Browns), Dick West (Reds), Gene Woodling (Indians), Red Tramback (Oklahoma City Indians), Barney Lutz (Elmira Pioneers) and Del Ennis (Trenton Packers).
By January of 1945, Lieutenant Bill Dickey had assumed duties as the 14th Naval District’s Athletic Director and was charged with assembling two teams of Navy ballplayers that would tour the Western Pacific for the purpose of entertaining the troops and boosting their morale. It was initially reported that Bill Dickey would be leading the tours, “One of the greatest collections of baseball stars ever gathered will leave the Fourteenth Naval District soon to take baseball, America’s No. 1 sport, directly to the fighting men in the forward fighting zones,” the February 5, 1945, Honolulu Advertiser reported. “The group, headed by Lt. Bill Dickey, USNR, former catching star of the New York Yankees,” the story continued, “heads out on a 14,000-mile trip which is intended to supply the best possible sports entertainment for thousands of men in the Pacific.” However, when the rosters were finalized and the men departed, Bill Dickey, according to Harrington E. Crissey, Jr. in his 1984 book, Athletes Away, “saw to it that he (Dickey) and two other veterans, Billy Herman and Schoolboy Rowe, were excused from going.”
Dickey continued to run the Fourteenth Naval District’s athletic department, which included the baseball league, and aside from umpiring a few early season games, Herman was assigned to the Aiea Naval Receiving Barracks team and played his familiar second base position with the club for the entire 1945 season.
In attempting to validate the softball and the signatures, we must consider several factors. We are certain that the softball is genuine, based upon the materials, construction and markings. We are also convinced that both signatures are genuine, leaving us to speculate on the circumstances that brought those two particular players together to sign the ball.
Since both Dickey and Herman were in Hawaii and serving in the Navy together from October of 1944 through the end of the war, we can easily place them together on Oahu. However, we further speculate that the two men had some sort of bond that went beyond the basic factors. Considering Dickey ensured that Herman was excused from the Pacific tours, we surmise that the two had some sort of a friendship that transcended the obvious. Herman and Dickey faced each other in the 1932 (Cubs versus Yankees) and 1941 (Dodgers versus Yankees) World Series and both men were in their early-to-mid 30s in age and were nearing the end of their professional careers by 1945. Perhaps the ball was signed for a mutual friend of Herman and Dickey.
Based upon the visible details, it Is our belief that the softball dates from 1945 and was most likely signed in Hawaii by the two future Hall of Famers. Displaying it alongside the Navy-marked bats and gloves only enhances the ball’s visual aesthetic, making it a fantastic addition to the Chevrons and Diamonds collection.
Airman Red Ruffing: A GI Pitcher
With Charles “Red” Ruffing’s 29-month U.S. Army Air Forces career, beginning with his induction on December 29, 1942, the extensive press coverage documenting every week’s activities could fill dozens of pages to chronical his tenure in uniform. Contrary to what can be unearthed for most ballplayers, the level of detail is simply astounding. Pitching in the major leagues for 19 seasons is certainly enough to garner press attention. In a span of a decade, the Yankees claimed the American League pennant seven times allowing Ruffing to accumulate a 7-3 World Series pitching record and capture six World Series titles. As if his record was not enough to garner an inordinate amount of press attention, having the U.S. Army Air Forces assign him to an air base in close proximity to Hollywood thrust Ruffing beneath the news media’s veritable microscope.
Capitalizing on the situation, Army brass ensured reporters and photographers would chronicle his activities for recruitment and morale-boosting opportunities, resulting in increased vintage photograph availability for collectors 75 years later. Our assessment of the Chevrons and Diamonds vintage photograph library and the discovery of several images of Ruffing prompted several weeks of research into the pitcher’s Army Air Force career. In our first segment, Charles “Red” Ruffing: Pitching for Victory, our exploration of Ruffing followed him from the last game of the 1942 World Series through the end of 1943 as he completed his first year in the U.S. Army Air Forces.
With the 1943 season effectively complete, the Sixth competed in winter baseball that included a number of exhibitions. The scoring in this game at San Bernardino’s Perris Hill Park resembled an October football game; 19-7 in the airmen’s favor (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection). 
Though the Sixth was “just” a team of airmen stationed at the Long Beach Air Base, the roster was more of an all-star team than their San Bernardino opponents (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection). 
The All-Stars featured two former big leaguers in Don Lang (Reds) and Walter Ripley (Red Sox) and was otherwise predominated with minor league and amateur talent (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection). 
Red Ruffing is prominently featured on the back cover of the October 24, 1943 all-star game program (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).
A year removed from his entry into the Army and with a California Service Championship to his Sixth Ferrying Group team’s credit, the pitcher was doing what he could t to boost the morale of his comrades-in-arms and baseball fans by providing a much-needed distraction from the rigors on the home front. While his team’s baseball schedule paled in comparison to a major league 154-game season, his duties outside of the foul lines kept him more active than he was with the Yankees. Aside from the victories, service league championships and the individual accolades covered in newsprint, there was significant financial impact delivered to the dozens of charities receiving money from the fundraisers associated with nearly all the Ferrying Group’s games.
As major and minor league players enjoyed their offseason lives, baseball in the California Service Leagues was up and running in late January. Ruffing was set to continue at the helm of the club as they began workouts for the upcoming 1944 campaign. A Long Beach Press-Telegram sports columnist wrote (January 26, 1944), “The club again figured to be one of the strongest service nines in the country.” Early fundraising planning was already underway by the first week of February, with the Hollywood Stars set to host the Sixth in their preseason opener at Gilmore Field to benefit the Kiwanis Club’s fund to assist children with disabilities.
Ruffing’s expanding waistline continued to draw the attention of sportswriters. Columnist Russ Newland, taking a jab at the pitcher’s non-baseball activities, wrote in his February 11, 1944 Western Sports Slant piece, “Ruffing tips the scales at 232 pounds but his arm is better than ever.” Foreshadowing the upcoming 1944 season, Newland wrote, “Charley Ruffing, the New York Yankees pitcher in the service, thinks both major leagues will be much slower on account of older men and green material,” speaking to the condition of the players on rosters in the American and National Leagues.
Scheduling for the season continued as the Ferry Group inked a date to visit Minter Field Air Base (Bakersfield) to take on the installation’s team. With the Seattle Rainiers holding spring training in town, a tune-up with the Pacific Northwest club was booked to coincide with that game. However, Southern California athletic planners experienced a brief scare when the USAAF senior leadership ordered all of the baseball teams to be disbanded and personnel reassigned on March 11. With the Kiwanis fundraiser game just days away, the Hollywood Stars were left scrambling to find a suitable last-minute opponent. The order was rescinded on the following day and schedules resumed as planned.
Seattle’s first exhibition game of the year was held in Bakersfield on Sunday, March 19, 1944 and saw the Rainiers dominated by Ferrying Group pitchers, 7-1, as Ruffing hurled the first three frames. Seattle’s lone bright moments came in the form of a single run off the former Yankee and turning a triple play. Otherwise, the Sixth roughed up Seattle’s pitching for ten hits. Al Olsen also toed the rubber for the Ferrying Group for six innings in relief, surrendering eight hits to Seattle while allowing only one runner to cross the plate. On Tuesday, March 20, the Port Hueneme Seabees visited Long Beach and Ruffing’s Ferrying Group was less than hospitable to their guests, treating them to a 5-3 defeat.
Traveling to Gilmore Field one week later, the Sixth Ferrying Group took down another of the Coast League’s franchises. This time the Hollywood Stars were the victim, with Ruffing and Pitter pitching to the “Twinks.” The Ferrying men pounded out 19 hits and plated 16 runs while being stingy towards the bats of their hosts, limiting Hollywood to just four runs, three of them charged to Pitter. Ruffing pitched five innings and allowed one run on six hits in front of 8,000 faithful fans. The exhibition game was a charity fund-raiser in support of the Kiwanis Club’s Crippled Children’s Fund.
Facing their third Pacific Coast League opponent in the exhibition season, the Sixth visited the spring training facilities of the Los Angeles Angels, capturing yet another victory, 7-5. With the win over Los Angeles, Long Beach Press-Telegram sportswriter Frank T. Blair wrote in his column, Frank-ly Speaking, “Sixth Ferry nine cuffed three Coast League clubs – Seattle, Angels and Hollywood – in spring exhibition games.” Blair added. “Red Ruffing’s outfit might be the strongest service team in the country,” Blair concluded by pointing out the strong pitching of Al Olsen, Roy Pitter, Hub Kittle and Bill Werbowski behind Ruffing as the principal reason for the team’s early season dominance. The Sixth seemed bent on backing up Blair’s assertion by shutting out the Angels, 7-0, their fourth win over the Coast League and second against Los Angeles. Roy Pitter went the distance for the Sixth, allowing just five hits while striking out 12 as Ruffing played the game in right field.
Since June of 1943, much speculation had been swirling around Red Ruffing’s continued service in the Air Forces. As he approached his 39th birthday, it appeared that he could opt to end his service because his age was over the limit. In early April, the veteran pitcher recognized the positive impact that his ball playing was having on both morale boosting and fund-raising, so he chose to serve, according to sports columnist Russ Newland.
Facing the Fifth Marine Division nine from Camp Pendleton on April 12, Ruffing’s start was abbreviated after surrendering a run in each of the first two innings. Replaced by Werbowski, Red shifted to right field in the third with the Sixth in possession of a 3-2 lead. The Sixth added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning but was matched by their opponents in the bottom half. Trailing 5-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Fifth Marines blew the game open by scoring four runs and taking the lead. In the eighth inning, Ruffing’s men scored a run, leaving the score 8-6 until the Marines tacked on the game’s final tally. The Ferrying Group was outhit 16-7 and committed two defensive miscues. Two days later, Johnny Berardino’s Terminal Island Naval Air Station nine handed the Sixth another loss. The losses appeared to be mounting as Ruffing surrendered three runs in the bottom of the first inning to the San Diego Naval Training Station squad. The Ferrying Group failed to score in the 7-0 shutout loss on April 16.
On April 28, the Sixth were on their way to repeating Ruffing’s 1943 no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning behind Roy Pitter’s arm. Ruffing’s men might have had an easier go against the Santa Ana Air Base (SAAAB) team this time around with Joe DiMaggio being absent from the roster. The star Yankee had been pulled from the Santa Ana team for deployment to the South Pacific to serve in a morale building capacity, according to the San Bernardino County Sun. Perhaps demoralized by the loss of their offensive star, the SAAAB club was shut out, 11-0.
Coinciding with Ruffing’s 39th birthday, the venerable pitcher was promoted to the rank of sergeant and faced Fort MacArthur’s Battery B club on May 3.
The disbanding of the McClellan Field Commanders combined with the departure of Joe DiMaggio was under the direction of Army leadership, a direct response to the Navy scattering some of its top baseball talent among several Hawaii commands and their corresponding ball clubs. As Ruffing’s Sixth Ferrying Group was dominating the 1943 California service baseball, the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base “Dolphins” were doing the same with the competition. Baseball in the Hawaiian Territory was a high-profile activity, with the Island of Oahu being crowded with several service, amateur and semi-pro leagues, all of them highly competitive at their respective levels. Seeking to turn the tide in the islands, the Army gathered talent, taking nearly the entire roster of players from one of their top teams, the McClellan Field nine. Adding a power-hitting exclamation mark to this veritable all-star roster, the Yankee Clipper was snatched from Southern California in order to form an entirely new club based at Hickam Field, the 7th Army Air Force (7th AAF) Fliers, to bring about an end to the Navy dominance on the island. For the time being, the Army left the Sixth Ferrying Group nearly untouched as only Jerry Priddy was shipped to Hawaii from the Long Beach squad.
Throughout the month of May, the Sixth had their way with the service and industrial league clubs of Southern California. In June, the winning continued for the Ferrying Group squad. A return to Gilmore Field for an exhibition contest against the Hollywood Stars resulted in the 24th consecutive win for Ruffing’s men. Outhit 12-4, the Stars succumbed to the pitching tandem of Ruffing and Pitter, 7-1.
Johnny Berardino’s Terminal Island Naval Air Station brought about an end to the Sixth’s win streak with a tight 2-1 victory on June 25. The loss to Terminal Island was followed with a 6-3 beating at the hands of the San Diego Naval Training Station nine. However, they kept their streak against the Pacific Coast League alive by blanking the San Diego Padres, with Ruffing lasting six innings and striking out 11 before giving way to Al Olsen, who preserved the 2-hit, 6-0 shutout.
On July 6, the Sixth Ferrying Group, likely frustrated by a succession of defeats at the hands of the Terminal Island Naval Air Station, exacted revenge with a 15-0 blowout. Berardino’s club suffered its worst loss of the season as Chuck Stevens led the barrage with a home run and two singles and Nanny Fernandez legged out a pair of triples among the 18 hits tallied by the Sixth. The win left the season series with Terminal Island tilted in the Ferrying Group’s favor, four games to two.
While the Red Ruffing and the Sixth were seemingly on their way to repeating their 1943 success with another championship, the writing was on the wall as rumors began to circulate that the Army leadership in Hawaii wanted to increase its advantage by bringing Ruffing to Oahu and adding him to the 7th AAF roster. Days later, the rumors were confirmed as the big right-handed pitcher was whisked away from Long Beach and sent to Hickam Field. Within a week, Ruffing joined his 1942 Yankees teammates, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon and Jerry Priddy, on the 7th AAF roster, donning his new uniform for the first time on July 30.
Ruffing joined a team that was already leading or close to the lead in their leagues. In the Hawaii League, the 7th’s 19-4 record had them out in front of the Pearl Harbor Sub Base (17-7) by 3.5 games. Trailing the Aiea Naval Hospital by one game In the Central Pacific Area (CPA) League, the 7th was 8-4 and tied with the Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay “Klippers.” To add insult to injury, the day after suffering a loss at the hands of the 7th AAF, the Pearl Harbor Sub Base squad, along with every other opposing team, had to contend with the early reports of yet another USAAF pitching ace that was set to join Ruffing and company. The 1942 World Series pitching hero Johnny Beazley was, according to Don Watson of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin (August 2), soon to land on Oahu and further bolster the dominant club.
Making his first pitching appearance since arriving on Oahu, Ruffing took the mound for the Hickam Bombers for a three-inning tune-up, having been farmed out by the 7th AAF’s manager, former Brooklyn Dodger “Long” Tom Winsett. Due to their well-stocked roster, it wasn’t uncommon for some of the 7th’s players to appear in games for teams within other leagues. During his three innings, Ruffing surrendered a lone-base hit. Ruffing had been scheduled to take the mound on August 6 for the 7th AAF in their game against the Hawaiis but was suffering from a severe cold. It wasn’t until the Fliers faced the Aiea Naval Hospital Hilltoppers on August 11 at Isenberg Field on the island of Kauai that Ruffing made his first start for his new club.
With more than 10,000 in attendance, Ruffing pitched a 5-hit complete game, a 6-1 victory over the Aiea Naval Hospital team that featured former Brooklyn Dodgers shortstop, Harold “Pee Wee” Reese. The victory put the 7th AAF out in front of Aiea in the CPA League standings. Aside from Ruffing’s pitching prowess, his bat accounted for two of his team’s 11 hits, driving in two runs against the Navy’s Hank Feimster and Vern Olsen. Scheduled to make his next appearance on August 20, Ruffing was scratched from the lineup as he was dealing with a knee injury.
In his August 20 Hoomalimali column in the Honolulu Advertiser, Red McQueen relayed a portion of a United Press syndicated editorial by Jack Cuddy regarding a proposed tournament that would determine the best of the best service teams of 1944. Cuddy’s suggested pitting the Parris Island Marines against Fort Campbell’s 20th Armored Division “Armor Raiders” against each other in a five game series, the winner of which would earn the right to face the Great Lakes NTC “Bluejackets” for the overall championship. McQueen argued that the tournament should also include the 7th AAF. Coincidently and already in play were the final arrangements for what was being billed as the Army-Navy championship. The Navy announced that Lieutenant Bill Dickey as of August 20, was already en route to Oahu to take the helm of the All-Star roster that was being assembled to face the Army squad.
The Aiea Hospital Hilltoppers defeated the 7th with Vern Olsen’s masterful 8-hit shutout performance. Though he was on the roster, Ruffing did not make an appearance (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection). 
Ruffing was in Hawaii for a very brief tenure and only appeared in a few games. This August 25, 1944 scorecard is from the 7th’s game against the Aiea Naval Hospital Hilltoppers. The Navy club featured Chief Petty Officer Harold “Pee Wee” Reese, Vern Olsen, George “Skeets” Dickey and Hank Feimster (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).
Ruffing’s knee injury kept him out of any games for the remainder of August and into September. Despite a late charge in the CPA League standings by the streaking Pearl Harbor Submarine Base Dolphins, the 7th AAF secured the league crown. Over in the Hawaii League, in Ruffing’s second start the 7th, carrying a 25-game winning streak, faced off against the Athletics for a Sunday afternoon game on August 3. For six strong innings in front of more than 8,000 Honolulu Stadium spectators, Ruffing’s knee was not a factor as he held the Athletics to three singles in the 5-1 victory, striking out four and without issuing a single walk. Ruffing’s work helped net the team their second league championship of the season.
On the eve of the CPA League Championship Series, Ruffing was slated to take the mound on Friday, August 8, in the opening game of the three-game showdown against the Aiea Navy Hilltoppers. Red’s knee injury flared up once more and kept him out of the game. Unfortunately, Ruffing never pitched again in Hawaii, despite being slated for a few more games. The recently arrived Johnny Beazley effectively replaced Red, who was shipped back to the States within days. “Count Red Ruffing out of the Service World Series, “wrote Red McQueen in his September 15 column. “The former Yankee mound ace has returned to the Mainland. A knee injury sustained in the ’42 World Series, aggravated shortly after his arrival here, made pitching a painful assignment to Big Red.” The loss of Ruffing was costly as the Army was swept by the Navy in the first four games of the series.
“An outstanding exhibition baseball game is brewing for Recreation Park here Sunday, October 1,” the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported on September 21. “The Sixth Ferrying Group, with Corporal (sic) “Red” Ruffing back in harness following a brief duty in Hawaii, will take on the reinforced U.S. Naval Dry Docks outfit. It seemed that a few days’ rest and a flight back to the States aided in Ruffing’s knee injury recovery. In addition to Ruffing’s return to the Sixth, Jerry Priddy was back with the Long Beach team.
The remainder of the 1944 California service baseball season for the Sixth Ferrying Group was dotted with exhibition games, including October matchups with Vince DiMaggio’s Major League All-Stars and the Kansas City Royals, a Negro League team that featured Willie Simms, Bonny Surrell, Ray Dandridge, Lloyd “Pepper” Bassett, “Wild Bill” Wright, Sam Bankhead and Willie Wells. In early November at Los Angeles’s Wrigley Field, the Sixth faced the Birmingham Black Barons, winners of the 1944 Negro League Championship, as the baseball season and the year wound to a quiet close for Ruffing.
Spring in Southern California comes early, which meant that the Sixth Ferrying Group opened up training at the end of January to get the roster in shape. As the team was working out, the early exhibition season planning was commencing. As was done in previous seasons, the Pacific Coast League teams sought to gain experience by facing big league caliber talent. The Sacramento Solons scheduled a March 18 contest with the Ferrying Group. However, before the season got started, the entire roster of the Sixth was shipped out apart from catcher Harry Danning and Ruffing.
The dissolution of the team left a hole in Southern California baseball. It left many teams and fund-raising event planners scrambling to fill the void. From the Coast League teams to the Kiwanis Crippled Children’s fund, the absence of the Sixth was very apparent. The major league all-star caliber talent and name recognition were no longer available to draw the fans to the events as in previous years.
As spring progressed, so did the war effort. Germany was all but finished and the Japanese were defending the last vestiges of their empire. American forces captured Iwo Jima, leaving the USAAF long range heavy bombers with unfettered access to the Japanese homeland from airfields on Tinian and Saipan.
In early April, rumors began to circulate from New York that Ruffing would soon be discharged. Red downplayed them. Yankee manager Joe McCarthy’s response was that the pitcher would, “be welcome with open arms even if he is 40 years old.” Regardless of Ruffing’s efforts to quell the talk, his discharge was impending as the Army transferred the pitcher to Camp Lee, Virginia, by May 1. By June 1, Ruffing had been transferred to Fort Dix, New Jersey, and was being processed out at the post’s 1262nd Service Command Separation Center. The Metropolitan Pasadena Star-News reported that Ruffing, 20-pounds overweight, had stated that he had no immediate plans for the future and had not pitched in a game since September 1944, when he injured his knee. The paper reported that the knee injury was sustained, “when he twisted his knee as a result of hooking a shoe cleat in the {pitching) mound rubber.” His discharge was finalized on June 5.
After unwinding for a few days, Ruffing visited the Yankees for a workout. On June 23, the Yankees announced that they reached an agreement with Ruffing and signed the former ace to a $20,000 contract, matching his 1942 season’s salary. Though he immediately joined the club for their June 26-July 8 western road trip (St. Louis, Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit), he was not slated to pitch.
Donning pinstripes for the first time since October 5, 1942, Red Ruffing stood tall on the hill at Yankee Stadium in front of a small crowd of 9,752 as he faced the Athletics. This time the team was from Philadelphia rather than Honolulu. The left sleeve of Red’s battery mate, catcher Aaron Robinson, himself a 2-year wartime veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, mirrored the pitcher’s as they were both adorned with a large emblem indicating the two had been discharged from the armed forces (see: WWII Veterans Honored on the Diamond: Ruptured Duck Patches for Baseball Uniforms).
Ruffing pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits in his return. The game was very much in hand with a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth frame as Red led off the inning, facing Philadelphia’s Lou Knerr. One baseball’s best power-hitting pitchers of all time stroked a deep line drive to right-center, legging out a triple for his first hit of the season. Second baseman Mike Milosevich followed the pitcher with a single that allowed Red to score. Perhaps gassed from his six innings on the mound or from his triple, combined with the extra weight he was carrying, Ruffing left the game in the top of the seventh after walking the A’s Bobby Estalella followed by an RBI single off the bat of Buddy Rosar. Ruffing was replaced by Al Gettel, who finished the game. Ruffing started 11 games for the Yankees and finished with an impressive 7-3 record and a 2.89 earned run average. With the roster missing the majority of the Yankee stars, New York finished in fourth place.
The following season, Ruffing appeared in eight games as a situational starting pitcher and was quite effective with an ERA of 1.77 and a 5-1 record. Ruffing’s season ended abruptly on June 29 in a loss to the Athletics. In the top of the fourth inning after inducing Irv Hall to fly out, George McQuinn powered a home run to deep right field, giving the As a 1-0 advantage. Red got Sam Chapman to pop out in foul territory for the second out of the inning but Buddy Rosar doubled to left-center. For the final out of the inning, Hank Majeski lined a shot that struck Red’s right kneecap. Ruffing picked up the carom and threw to first to get Majeski for the final out of the inning but the damage was done. The Yankees were scoreless after the bottom of the fourth and Red returned to the mound for the top of the fifth. Red gave up a one-out single to Tuck Stainback before retiring the side. Set to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, Red was lifted for a pinch hitter, ending his day.
The line drive off his knee left him heavily bruised and kept Ruffing out of the lineup for the remainder of the season. With Charles “Red” Ruffing’s 29-month U.S. Army Air Forces career, beginning with his induction on December 29, 1942, the extensive press coverage documenting every week’s activities could fill dozens of pages to chronical his tenure in uniform. Contrary to what can be unearthed for most ballplayers, the level of detail is simply astounding. Pitching in the major leagues for 19 seasons is certainly enough to garner press attention. In a span of a decade, the Yankees claimed the American League pennant seven times allowing Ruffing to accumulate a 7-3 World Series pitching record and capture six World Series titles. As if his record was not enough to garner an inordinate amount of press attention, having the U.S. Army Air Forces assign him to an air base in close proximity to Hollywood thrust Ruffing beneath the news media’s veritable microscope.
After another knee injury to his 41-year-old body, the Yankees cut him loose in September. The White Sox gave the big right-hander one last shot for the 1947 season. His record served as an indication that his career was over. Ruffing turned 42 on the eve of his first game for Chicago, resulting in an 8-7 loss to the Athletics. Red pitched his last major league game against his first team, the Red Sox, on September 15, 1947, taking a 7-5 loss. He finished the season with a 4-5 record and an ERA of 6.11.
The impact of Ruffing’s wartime service is immeasurable. He helped to win the war on the high seas, in the skies and on far-off battlefields. It is far too easy and dismissive to relegate his time in uniform to escaping combat by merely playing baseball. Despite being drafted (rather than volunteering), Ruffing embraced the opportunity through baseball to provide his comrades with a break from combat training or the difficulties in recovering from life-altering scars on the battlefield. Baseball, whether through watching a game or an interaction with a notable player such as Ruffing, provided a sense of normalcy to thousands of troops, who viewed Ruffing as a role model, and a true hero.
See also:
- A Lifetime Collection of Images: Star Baseball Player Sam Chapman, the Tiburon Terror and Wartime Naval Aviator: Part 1 | Part 2
- Sub-Hunting: Uncovering the Pearl Harbor Sub Base Nine
- Seeing Stars Through the Clouds: 1943-44 Navy Team Autographed Baseball
- Keeping Score of Major Leaguers Serving in the Pacific
- A Full Career Behind the Plate with Just Six Major League At-Bats
- Johnny “Big Jawn” Mize, WWII Service and His Elusive Signature
- Klipper Day: Marking the End of a Season
- Signature Search: The 1945 Hickam Bombers
- George “Birdie” Tebbetts: From Waco to Tinian
All of the photos published in this article are the part of the Chevrons and Diamonds Collection and may not be used without written permission.
Visual Traces of a Wartime Service Career
The year 2020 was one of considerable growth for the Chevrons and Diamonds Collection as many artifacts with historical significance were sourced and added. While we apply very specific guidelines that ensure that each piece has a direct military correlation, not every piece that found its way into our archives last year adhered to our stringent criteria.
When we discovered an online listing that featured a team-signed Reach (Spalding) Official American League baseball, intrigue set in as many of the autographs were from ballplayers who served in the armed forces during World War II. Due diligence soon confirmed that the ball, listed as a Washington Senators team baseball, was as advertised.
In our quest to secure vintage photos of service baseball, wartime or otherwise, we find that some players received better coverage than others, resulting in more market-available photographs. With the (then) recent arrival of a beautiful press photo depicting Boston Red Sox pitcher Mickey Harris with his parents and his wartime flannel jersey, inspiration led me to see if any other artifacts related to the player were available. Searches in online auctions yielded nothing more than a handful of autograph cuts, early 1950s baseball cards (issued by Bowman, Leaf and Topps) and photographs from his professional career (vintage and reproduction). However, on a popular social media platform, the Washington Senators baseball surfaced as a recommendation, obviously due to the Mickey Harris-related search we had been performing.
Al Evans (C)
Sherry Robertson (IF)
Mark Christman (3B)
Mickey Harris (P)
Sam Mele (OF)
Jake Early (C)
Gil Coan (OF)
(Chevrons and Diamonds Collection)
Upon opening the link, we discovered that the ball was not only signed by Harris but also by a number of players who, just a few years before placing their autographs on the ball, were serving domestically and around the world in the armed forces. The manufacturer’s stamping with the official league marks indicated that the ball was made for use during the 1948-49 seasons. Mickey Harris was traded by Boston (along with Sam Mele) to the Senators following his third loss of the 1949 season on June 7. The presence of Enrique Gonzalez’ signature narrowed the date range of the signing between August 9 and September 25.
Harris’ career was all downhill following the 1946 season when he was part of a decent pitching staff that was headlined by Dave “Boo” Ferriss’ 25-6 record. Tex Hughson, another 20-game winner on the ’46 club, led the team in earned run average, leaving Harris’ 17-9 record and 3.64 ERA overshadowed. He was clearly one of the reasons for the Red Sox’ ascension to the 1946 World Series and despite his losses in games 2 (3-0) and 6 (4-1), he pitched well. Harris was not the only pitcher to suffer from a lack of run support in the Series, which was shocking, considering the Sox’ top ranking in average, runs, hits on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. Red Sox batters ranked second for home runs, fourth for triples and led the American League in doubles. Their Series opponent, the Saint Louis Cardinals, were similar in their offensive statistical categories. The difference was a combination of Cardinal pitching holding Boston at bay combined with the Red Sox’ lackluster defense (10 total errors to St. Louis’ four).
Following the ’46 season, Harris’ pitching was in decline as he struggled with injuries and more than likely his confidence, which led to his trade to Washington. At the end of Harris’ 1941 campaign, his career situation was much different. Mickey was in his first full season on an above average second-place team that saw the last season in which a player hit for an average of .400 or better. The young Red Sox team had a bright future ahead of it until Imperial Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor plunged the United States into a global war. Coming off an 8-14, 3.25 ERA season, Harris found himself answering his draft board’s call and was inducted on October 14, 1941, just 17 days after pitching Boston to a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics. Following in-processing at Fort Dix, New Jersey, Harris was assigned to Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia, for additional training.
In a published letter (The Boston Globe, January 30, 1942: Pitching for the Balboa Nine, by Harold Kaese) that Harris wrote to Joe Cronin, his former manager in Boston, Harris detailed his pitching exploits as he played for his Army command’s team. Pitching for the 83rd Coast Artillery (Anti-Aircraft) at Fort Kobbe in the Panama Canal Zone, Harris described his team’s lack of talent. “The current club I play with hasn’t any hitting power and no defense whatsoever,” Harris decried. In his first game, he dropped a 1-0 decision that was followed with a 4-2 loss in which the team’s third baseman allowed the go-ahead run to score. Perhaps he was attempting to downplay the two losses in his communication to Cronin, hoping to restart his Red Sox career with the club after the war ended. Harris continued, “I was hoping I would be sent down here, if any place, so I could try to stay in shape.” While not playing baseball for his command’s team. Harris worked as a mail clerk at headquarters. “I sort all incoming and outgoing mail,” he wrote to Cronin.
Duty in the Canal Zone was not relaxed despite how Harris described it in his letter to Cronin. The canal was of vital strategic importance, providing expedited transits of shipping between the two major oceans. American military personnel stationed in the region peaked at 65,000, with civilian support staff numbering in the tens of thousands. it was clear to Harris that his duties, including playing baseball to boost morale, were important. Both the Germans and Japanese developed plans to destroy or seize control of the canal, though neither nation’s forces made any attempt to carry them out.
Harris worked on his control and attempted to develop his change-up pitch. “I throw quite a few changes,” he told Cronin, “and I get them over.” Harris was committed to being prepared to return to the big league club. “I will keep working on things that need correcting and will profit by mistakes I make while playing down here,” Harris continued, “so that I won’t let it happen to me when I am back playing with the Sox again.”
Every pitcher has ambitions for wins, inducing batters to make outs in high stress situations as they employ their skills and experience to dominate opponents’ offenses. However, not allowing a single batter to reach base in a game is in another realm of accomplishments that so few pitchers allow themselves to dream about. Harris took his outing to such a level as he not only retired all 27 batters he faced on April 12, 1942 but used only 67 pitches to achieve the feat. Facing an all-star roster from the Canal Zone league in the first game of the Isthmus “Little World Series”, Private Harris commented on the opposition. “It was a good team of pros, with (Leo) Eastham and (Otto) Huber, who played for Hartford, on it, but I would have beaten any team with the stuff I had that day.” More than 2,000 spectators, including several hundred servicemen, watched as Harris struck out five and even made a spectacular defensive play on a slow roller to preserve the perfecto. It was not until later in the game that Harris was clued into what he was doing on the mound. “I didn’t realize I was pitching a no-reach game until the seventh inning, when a morale officer started to speak to me and the manager put his finger to his lips,” Harris told the Boston Globe. “Then I figured it out. Well, I just poured it to ’em the rest of the way. I struck out a pinch hitter on three pitched balls.” Harris’ club won the game, 9-0.
In the Canal Zone’s winter league play, Harris finished with a win-loss record of 11-4. In addition to his perfect game, Mickey fanned 17 in a contest and tossed two one-hit games. Aside from his correspondence with his Red Sox manager, Lieutenant Mickey Cochrane, the former Detroit Tigers catcher and manager who was leading the Great Lakes Naval Training Station’s Bluejackets club, was taking notice of Harris’ success on the Army club in Panama. Cochrane was charged with assembling a roster of ballplayers who were serving in the armed forces to take on the winner of the 1942 major league baseball All-Star game. With a significant push to raise funds in support of the Army and Navy Relief organizations, the game was scheduled for July 7 at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium.
Cochrane’s Service All-Star roster featured a nucleus of 10 Great Lakes NTS Bluejacket players that were augmented by three from Norfolk NTS and seven Army ballplayers. Seeking to bolster his pitching staff, Cochrane pulled the strings to have Private Mickey Harris recalled from Panama to join Bob Feller, Johnny Rigney and John Grodzicki. As part of his travel from the Panamanian Isthmus, Harris was granted 30-days of leave in conjunction with the event and the practices leading up to the game.
One of the first photos of Harris that we acquired was captured at one of the Service All-Stars’ practices on July 3 at Great Lakes Naval Training Station. Harris is pictured with 12 All-Star teammates. The image was acquired with a large group of military baseball images that centered on Sam Chapman’s career in the Navy.
The talented American League roster tallied three runs in the top of the first and never looked back as they secured the right to travel to Cleveland on the evening of July 6 to face Cochrane’s squad of service ballplayers. Harris told a Boston Globe reporter, “I’m in good shape and I hope that I get to pitch in a part of the All-Star game. When Mickey told me I would be on the squad he said he couldn’t promise me that I would get into the game, but I don’t guess they would bring me all the way up from Panama for nothing.”
Harris was correct. Cochrane started Bob Feller, who struggled with control out of the gate. Feller, who could not retire a batter in the second inning, left the game after having surrendered three runs on four hits and walking five. Trailing 3-0, Cochrane sent Harris to spell Johnny Rigney in the seventh and was immediately tagged by Yankee Phil Rizzuto for a double. Rizzuto followed his hit by stealing third. Harris coaxed Senators’ right fielder Stan Spence to tap a slow roller back to the pitcher for an easy play. But then his former Red Sox teammate, Ted Williams, powered a deep fly to left center, resulting in an RBI triple. With a run in and one out, Harris induced a Joe DiMaggio pop fly for the second out, but Browns’ first baseman George McQuinn stroked a two-out triple to right center that scored Williams. Harris finished the seventh by retiring another former Red Sox teammate, second baseman Bobby Doerr. Aside from the American League, the winners of the game were the Army and Navy Relief organizations, which split the $75,000 pot raised in the game.
Front: Vincent Smith, Pittsburgh Pirates; Don Padgett, Brooklyn Dodgers; Ernest Andres, Louisville Colonels; Herman Fishman; Frank Pytlak, Boston Red Sox; Fred Shaffer, Louisville Colonels; Russell Meers, Milwaukee Brewers.
Center: LCDR J. Russell Cook, Athletic Office – Great Lakes; Don Dunker; O.V. Mulkey; Cecil Travis, Washington Senators; Fred Hutchinson, Detroit Tigers; Sam Chapman, Philadelphia Athletics; Bob Feller, Clevaland Indians; George Earnshaw; Mickey Cochrane; Hank Gowdy, Cincinnati Reds (coach); Joe Grace, St. Louis Browns; Mickey Harris, Boston Red Sox; John Rigney, Chicago White Sox.
Back: Ken Silvestri, New York Yankees; Pat Mullin, Detroit Tigers; Chester Hadjuk, Chicago White Sox; Johnny Sturm, New York Yankees; Sam Harshany, Toldeo Mud Hens; Johnny Lacadello, St. Louis Browns; John Grodzicki, St. Louis Cardinals; Benny McCoy, Philadelphia Athletics; Emmett Mueller, Philadelphia Phillies, Morris Arnovich, New York Giants. (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection)
Despite originally being slated to return to Panama (by way of Texas) on July 14, the September 4, 1942 edition of The Berkshire Eagle reported that Harris had been reassigned. “Private Mickey Harris, former Boston Red Sox pitcher, flew from his Army station in the Panama Canal Zone to join the service all-star squad that met the AL All-Stars in Cleveland on July 7 but didn’t return to that assignment. He is now stationed at Pine Camp, NY, where he pitches for the camp team, which has won 23 games in a Tri-State service league.” Though further research has not yet confirmed his reassignment, it was temporary.
Once again pitching in the Canal Zone winter league, Harris’ Balboa Brewers struggled out of the gate, dropping eight of their first 10 games. The ship was righted with the arrival of former Holy Cross pitcher Al Jarlett as the cub posted a seven-game win streak. The Brewers, facing the Cuban All-Stars, were bolstered with a 1942 World Series hero, Terry Moore, (2-4 in the game) as Balboa captured a 6-1 victory on September 12. A month later, Moore was present in St. Louis to see the Yankees defeat his Cardinals in the 1943 World Series as Harris continued with his Panama assignment.
Harris spent nearly four years in the Army, serving almost the entire time in Panama. In the 1945 Pacific Championship, Harris struck out twenty Canal Zone All-Star batters in leading Balboa to a 1-0 victory on July 21. On the opposing roster was his former Brewers teammate, Private Terry Moore, whom Harris had previously never fanned. However, three of Harris’ strikeouts came at the expense of Moore as the season wound to a close.
With the surrender of Japan in the Pacific, Harris wrote home that he was hopeful of being able to join the Red Sox during their final series of the 1945 season, four games against New York at Yankee Stadium; however, he didn’t leave the Panamanian isthmus until October.
As he wrote to Cronin in 1942, Harris dedicated himself to maturing and perfecting his pitching, making Joe Cronin’s 1946 spring training decision to keep him easy. Harris opened the season winning eight decisions before losing his first game on May 26 to the Yankees. In his two World Series losses to the Cardinals, Harris failed to strike out his former Canal Zone league teammate and later opponent, Terry Moore, until the bottom of the first inning in Game Six.
Our most recent Harris addition shows the Balboa Brewer in mid-windup as he appears to be warming up prior to entering a game in May, 1945. It can be a challenge to source a single image of a professional ballplayer during his wartime service let alone five. It is rather unique to be able to visually chronicle Harris’ four years in the Army.
Signature Search: The 1945 Hickam Bombers
Our 1945 autographed Hickam Bombers ball showing autographs from Ferris Fain, Enos Slaughter, Kernie Kohlmeyer, Steve Tomko and John J. “Moe” Ambrosia (source: Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).
Throughout the past decade, autographs were never a central aspect of the Chevrons and Diamonds collection nor have we actively pursued signatures of ballplayers, choosing instead to focus on uniforms, equipment, original photographs and ephemera. In some instances, acquiring a signed item was inevitable, though not central, to the factors contributing to the decision to acquire an autographed piece. However, in the last 18-24 months, as we sought verifiable baseballs from wartime service games, the examples that survived were preserved because they bore signatures.
In retrospect, acquiring artifacts of a particular category seems to happen in spurts. We acquired our first few baseballs in a succession of a few months, starting in the fall of 2017. After a few years of being unable to locate a verifiable service team baseball, we were able to once again add more in a series of acquisitions. Though our search has been focused primarily upon unused or unsigned service team baseballs, we have yet to secure an example for our collection.
A few of the signed baseballs that we have landed are from some of the most notable service teams that played during World War II, including the Navy squads of the 1943 Pearl Harbor Submarine Base Dolphins and 1944 Norfolk Naval Training Station Bluejackets, the rosters of each studded with former stars of the major and minor leagues. While neither baseball was signed by a future member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, several of the signatures on each ball were from star players before their careers were put on hold for war service. The remainder of the inscribed names were placed by former minor leaguers, semi-professionals and regular servicemen. One such serviceman rubbing shoulders with major leaguers was Oscar Sessions of the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base Dolphins squad (see: Sub-Hunting: Uncovering the Pearl Harbor Sub Base Nine).
“Between the present and the past there exists no more intimate personal connection than an autograph. It is the living symbol of its author.” Thomas Madigan, author of Word Shadows Of The Great – The Lure Of Autograph Collecting
As the war progressed, service team rosters on Oahu began to be saturated with major league players as they were transferred from domestic military installations to various bases on the island beginning in early 1943. This trend continued into the ensuing year. Following the (Army versus Navy) Service World Series in the fall of 1944, top-tier talent on both Series team rosters were disseminated throughout Oahu bases to compete in the 1945 baseball season’s league play. Also in 1945, both the Navy and Army assembled two squads of all-stars to travel to the Western Pacific to entertain troops with baseball in newly captured enemy strongholds including Guam, Micronesia and the Philippines.
The 1944 season in Hawaii, as it could be argued by many baseball historians, was the peak of both the amassed talent and the quality of competition. The following year, with so many of the top players being pulled from Hawaiian League teams to play in the Western Pacific, the various Oahu commands were left scrambling to fill roster vacancies. The dominant team of the 1944 season, the 7th Army Air Force Flyers, no longer existed and the players were dispersed to other commands and for the overseas tour.
In our search for baseball militaria, we were fortunate to uncover a program (USASTAF Major League Baseball All Stars Program) from one of games of the USAAF Western Pacific tour that provided rosters for two (the 73rd Bombardment Wing “Bombers” and 58th Bombardment Wing “Wingmen”) of the three squads (which also included the 313th Bombardment Wing “Flyers”) that made up the Army Air Forces’ group of ball players. Additional research for an article regarding the USAAF games in the Marianas yielded a roster for the 313th (see: George “Birdie” Tebbetts: From Waco to Tinian).
With our familiarity of the USAAF Western Pacific teams’ rosters, we were rather gleefully interested when a signed, 1945-dated baseball became available. Inscribed on the baseball were 26 signatures that included eleven men who were divided into the three teams. While many of the signatures were easily recognizable, several were difficult to discern and a few more of the autographs were signed by players whom we were not familiar with. The ball was also accompanied by a certificate from Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) that validated the signatures as authentic. We secured the baseball with a reasonable transaction; however, we were unsure of several aspects regarding the names and if the collection of signatures amounted to a specific team.
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- 1945 Hickam Bombers ball: Ferris Fain, Enos Slaughter, Kernie Kohlmeyer, Steve Tomko, John J. “Moe” Ambrosia, Bill Mosser, Birdie Tebbets (source: Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).
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- 1945 Hickam Bombers ball: Bill Salveson, Eddie Funk, Frank Saul, Stan Rojek, Don Schmidt, Len Burton, Walter Judnich (source: Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).
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- 1945 Hickam Bombers ball: Johnnie Jensen, Dario Lodigiani Glenn Dobbs, John Mazur (source: Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).
Among the autographs were some of the game’s best players (including a future selection to the Hall of Fame): Dario Lodigiani (White Sox), Walt Judnich (Browns), Mike McCormick (Reds), Birdie Tebbetts (Tigers), Howie Pollet (Cardinals) and Enos “Country” Slaughter (Cardinals), not to mention the future all-star and two-time American League batting champion Ferris Fain). The initial thoughts of this ball having a correlation to the Pacific teams was dashed with a minor dose of research. With the exception of four names, Walter Judnich (Bellows Field Flyers), Mike McCormick (Wheeler Wingmen), Bill Mosser and Steve Tomko (correlating teams are currently unknown), the players were all members of the Hickam (Field) Bombers baseball team in 1945. Utilizing archived articles, box scores and game recaps from the Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star, we were able to assemble a full season roster for the 1945 Hickam team which aided in identifying the more difficult autographs.
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- 1945 Hickam Bombers ball: George Sprys, George Gill, Tom Tatum, Howie Pollet. (source: Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).
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- 1945 Hickam Bombers ball: Bill Salveson, Eddie Funk, Frank Saul, Stan Rojek, Don Schmidt, Len Burton, Walter Judnich (source: Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).
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- 1945 Hickam Bombers ball: Bill Hitchcock, Mike McCormick (source: Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).
There were a few names on the ball that posed considerable challenges in identification. One of the names, “John Murphy,” left us scratching our heads. If we simply placed our trust in the PSA/DNA autograph certification, we would have had to ignore our instincts and deny that our eyes were telling us that there was no likeness to the confirmed signature of the former Yankees pitcher of the same name. With such a common name, we were about to resign ourselves to this particular player being one of several dozen men who shared the name and served in the Army during WWII until we experienced a breakthrough with our research effort.
List of Signatures on the 1945 USAAF Baseball (major league experience in italics):
| Team | Rank | Name | Position | Former Team (Pre-War) |
| Hickam Bombers | John J.”Moe” Ambrosia | Bat Boy/2B | Unknown | |
| Hickam Bombers | John (Murphy) Bialowarczuk | 3B/P/MGR | Semi-Pro | |
| Hickam Bombers | Leonard Burton | P | Tallahasse (GAFL) | |
| Hickam Bombers | Glenn Dobbs | Tulsa U./Chicago Cardinals (NFL) | ||
| Hickam Bombers | S/Sgt. | Ferris Fain | 1B | San Francisco (PCL) |
| Hickam Bombers | Eddie Funk | P | San Diego (PCL) | |
| Hickam Bombers | Cpl. | George Gill | P | Browns/Tigers |
| Hickam Bombers | Capt. | Billy Hitchcock | 3B | Tigers |
| Hickam Bombers | Cpl. | Johnny Jensen | LF/CF | San Diego (PCL) |
| Bellows Field Flyers/Fliers | Sgt. | Walter Judnich | OF | Browns |
| Hickam Bombers | Geroge Colonel “Kearny” Kohlmeyer | 2B | Tyler (EXTL) | |
| Hickam Bombers | Sgt. | Dario Lodigiani | 2B | White Sox |
| Hickam Bombers | Johnny Mazur | C | Semi-Pro | |
| Wheeler Wingmen | Myron “Mike” McCormick | CF/MGR | Reds | |
| Unknown | Bill Mosser | P | Semi-Pro | |
| Hickam Bombers | Roy Pitter | P | NYY Property | |
| Hickam Bombers | Pfc. | Howie Pollet | P | Cardinals |
| Hickam Bombers | Sgt. | Stan Rojek | SS | Dodgers |
| Hickam Bombers | Bill Salveson | P | Semi-Pro | |
| Hickam Bombers | Frank Saul | P | Semi-Pro | |
| Hickam Bombers | Don Schmidt | P | Semi-Pro | |
| Hickam Bombers | Sgt. | Enos “Country” Slaughter | CF/LF | Cardinals |
| Hickam Bombers | George Sprys | RF | Appleton (WISL) | |
| Hickam Bombers | Tom Tatum | RF | Dodgers | |
| Hickam Bombers | Capt. | Geroge “Birdie” Tebbetts | C | Tigers |
| Unknown | Steve Tomko | Unknown |
Among the dozens of articles throughout the 1945 season in both Honolulu newspapers, we found two that revealed an inaccuracy within our compiled Hickam roster. An abundance of references to third baseman John Murphy, one of the team’s leading hitters and fielders, seemed to indicate the Murphy was splitting time with third baseman John Bialowarczuk, who was also one of the team’s better hitting infielders. However, there were two articles that discussed the management duties falling to a “John (Murphy) Bialowarczuk” who also played at third. Understanding that the two names referenced the same manwe were drawn to focus to research efforts upon Mr. Bialowarczuk which led to our discovery that the two names were referring to the same person.
Signed 1945 Hickam Bombers baseball: Roy Pitter, John “Murphy.” We discovered that Murphy, though professionally authenticated as the Yankees pitcher, Johnny “Fireman” Murphy, the signature didn’t match and “Fordham Johnny” (as he was also known) did not serve in the armed forces (source: Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).
One of the trends with Chevrons and Diamonds articles is that we enjoy introducing our readers to those players who never enjoyed professional baseball careers, let alone playing in a major league game. John Bialowarczuk was an airman who dreamed of playing in the major leagues after the war. Before World War II, he was making a name for himself with his hometown semi-professional baseball club, the Carteret (New Jersey) Cardinals, where he seemed to be playing shortstop against foes such as the Metuchen Eagles and the East Brunswick Panthers in 1941. Bialowarczuk was born on May 6, 1921, in Carteret, New Jersey, 10 years after future Hall of Fame left fielder Joe “Ducky Medwick. John followed Medwick through Carteret High School. However, instead of signing a professional baseball contract, Bialowarczuk found himself on the local semi-pro Cardinals’ roster, playing from 1938 to 1942 with hopes of being scouted by the major leagues. John’s Cardinals were very competitive, taking on regional semi-pro clubs and even collegiate baseball teams, including Rutgers University. Seven months after Pearl Harbor, 21-year old Bialowarczuk enlisted in the Army on August 17, 1942. By 1943, John was on the north shore of Oahu, stationed at the Kahuku Army Airfield, where he played on the base’s sports teams. His softball team, APO 964, secured the Seventh Air Force championship as they won the Seventh Fighter Command’s 1943 tournament.
The 1945 Hickam Bombers roster was dramatically altered after most of the major leaguers were sent to the Marianas. Note John “Murphy” replaced Birdie Tebbetts as the team’s manager (source: Honolulu Advertiser, July 20, 1945).
John Bialowwarczuk’s May 20, 1946 American Baseball Bureau player information sheet. Note his wartime alias is listed as “Murphy” (image source: Ancestry).
By the fall of 1943, Bialowarczuk was establishing a reputation as an all-around athlete, leading Hickam’s Seventh Air Force Flyers football squad as the team’s quarterback. With the steady influx of former professional ballplayers making their way onto the Army, Army Air Forces, Navy and Marine Corps teams throughout the island, the level of competition increased. Corporal Bialowarczuk was now stationed at Hickam and played on the Bombers baseball squad (which did not benefit from additional talent until the following season) for both the 1944 and 1945 seasons. Bialowarczuk was discharged at the end of the war. In the spring of 1946, he may have been working out with a professional club (there is no record of any professional experience) as he had the opportunity to submit an American Baseball Bureau form. On his form, Bialowarczuk stated that his ambition in baseball was, “to be a major leaguer.” He considered his most interesting or unusual baseball experience to be, “hitting a home run off Walt Masterson,” no doubt while playing for Hickam in 1944. He also stated that “playing against major league stars,” was his most interesting experience while serving with the Seventh Air Force. Bialowarczuk highlighted opposing players such as the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Pee Wee Reese and Hugh Casey and Detroit’s Schoolboy Rowe. John Bialowarczuk passed away in 2017 at the age of 96. Though his “Murphy” alias is listed on his American Baseball Bureau profile, the reason for its use remains a mystery.
The Kahuku Army Airfield softball team claimed the 7th Air Force championship in 1943. John (Murphy) Bialowarczuk is seated at the far left in the second row (source: Honolulu Advertiser, Aug. 14, 1943).
John J. “Moe” Ambrosia was an active-duty U.S. Army Air Forces airman and was a member of the 1945 Hickam Bombers team. For most of the baseball season, “Moe” served as the team’s mascot and bat boy. Regardless of his official capacity on the team, Ambrosia possessed enough baseball talent and experience that manager Birdie Tebbetts began to utilize him in the field. On one such occasion, Tebbetts sent Ambrosia out to cover second base late in a 15-inning marathon game against the Fort Shafter club. The trend continued for Ambrosia as he began to see more action into July. When the rosters were drained of several players (Fain, Gill, Hitchcock, Jensen, Lodigiani, Mazur, Pollet, Rojek Slaughter and Tebbetts), the managerial reins were handed to John (Murphy) Bialowarczuk, who promoted Moe to an everyday player. Unlike Bialowarczuk, Ambrosia did not have any post-war baseball activity and it is unknown what became of the Hickam Bombers’ mascot. Ambrosia’s signature is rather prominently placed on our baseball, augmented with his “Moe” nickname.
The four remaining names, Bill Mosser (who had a 6-year post-war minor league career), Steve Tomko (who is presently unknown), Bellows Field Flyers outfielder Walter Judnich and Wheeler Wingman centerfielder/manager Mike McCormick, remain a mystery as to their connection with what seems to be a Hickam Bombers team-signed baseball. Regardless of the anomalies, the baseball is truly a cherished addition to the Chevrons and Diamonds collection.
Additional Signed Service Team Baseballs in the Chevrons and Diamonds Collection:
Chevrons and Diamonds 