1942 U.S. Service All-Stars Treasured Ink

On February 2, 2023, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the prognosticating ground hog known to the people of Young Township, Jefferson County, as Phil, was said to have predicted six more weeks of winter. However, just two weeks later, spring arrived as was scheduled by Major League Baseball as pitchers and catchers reported to their respective teams’ training locations in Arizona and Florida. Despite wintry weather pounding many parts of the country in the weeks that followed, the long wait that began following the last out of Game 6 of the 2022 World Series on November 5 is finally over. The 2023 baseball season is about to commence.

While the game takes a three-month break, there truly is no offseason for it. For curators of the game’s history, the season ebbs and flows from one end of the calendar to the other as prospective candidates for the collection become available at any moment. While major league clubs were seeking their prized free agent acquisitions, we too were busy landing significant artifacts for the Chevrons and Diamonds Collection.

In the last few years, our collection of team-signed baseballs has grown at a snail’s pace, though the emphasis has been focused on quality rather than quantity. However, over a three-week span from February into March, we managed to land three significant team balls. Rather than spill the beans on all three pieces in one article, our current focus will be on the anchor of the group.

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words and while there seems to be a fair amount of truth in that expression, grouping together related artifacts can better serve in telling a complete story. In our January 2022 article, Historic Game Program Discovery: July 7, 1942 Service All-Stars, we introduced readers to the fund-raising game played between the American League All-Stars and the Service All-Stars at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. By bringing together a few of our press photos and a game scorecard, the game was elevated to an event rather than just a box score. While the group of photos and the game program are historic artifacts, the group of 1942 Service All-Star artifacts was further enhanced with a Reach Official American League, William Harridge baseball signed by the team.

The program for the 1942 Service All-Stars vs AL All-Stars.

Before 1942 began, serious doubts swirled throughout the game as to whether baseball would be played that season as players began volunteering for service in the armed forces. Cleveland Indians phenom pitcher Bob Feller enlisted into the Navy on December 9 as the first major leaguer to answer his nation’s call. Twenty days later, Philadelphia Athletics outfielder Sam Chapman followed suit, trading his flannels for Navy dress blues. Many ballplayers were already in uniform due to the enacted peacetime Selective Service Act, including Ernie Andres, Frank Baumholtz, Mickey Harris, and Fred Hutchinson. At the age of 41, George Earnshaw, former Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher, was commissioned a Lieutenant junior grade in the U.S. Navy in early December 1941.

With service baseball taking flight in the spring of 1942, teams at many domestic bases were competing in games to boost morale and to raise funds for Army and Navy Relief organizations and for recreation equipment funds for troops. As plans were drawn to field a team of military all-stars from across the country, Great Lakes Naval Training Station manager Lieutenant Gordon “Mickey” Cochrane began assembling his preferred list of players from the Army and Navy who would face the winners of the major league all-star game.

Chevrons and Diamonds Collection

Courtesy Gary Bedingfield Collection

Dual photos showing the 1942 Service All-Stars in their service uniforms and team flannels: left to right are:
Front Row: 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 (trainer); 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.

By late June as the majority of the service all-stars reported to Cochrane, coaches LT(jg) Earnshaw and WWI Army veteran Hank Gowdy began putting the club through workouts to build team cohesiveness. In preparation for the July 7 game, Cochrane took the team on the road for a handful of exhibition games.

Chevrons and Diamonds Collection

Chevrons and Diamonds Collection

Left: July 1, 1942- Great Lakes, Illinois: Emmett Mueller (of the Phillies) left, and John Sturm (Yankees) right, members of the All-Service team training at Great Lakes (Illinois) Naval Training Station, take orders from Lieutenant George Earnshaw, center, former big league pitcher, who is assisting Mickey Cochrane train the service team for coming game with major league stars at Cleveland.

Right: July 3, 1942 – Service All-Stars – Left to right: Emmett Mueller, Morrie Arnovich, Mickey Harris, John Sturm, John Grodzicki, Cecil Travis, Ken Silvestri, Pat Mullin, Lieutenant George Earnshaw, Fred Hutchinson, Vincent Smith, Bob Feller, Sam Chapman.

Player	Position	Service Team	Former
Ernie Andres	3B	Great Lakes Naval Training Station	Louisville (AA)
Morrie Arnovich	LF	Fort Lewis	Giants
Frank Baumholtz	CF	Great Lakes Naval Training Station	Riverside (CALL)
Sam Chapman	OF	Norfolk Naval Training Station	Athletics
Mickey Cochrane	Mgr.	Great Lakes Naval Training Station	Tigers
George Earnshaw	Coach	Jacksonville Naval Air Station	Cardinals
Bob Feller	P	Norfolk Naval Training Station	Indians
Hank Gowdy	Coach		Reds Coach
Joe Grace	RF	Great Lakes Naval Training Station	Browns
Johnny Grodzicki	P	Armed Forces Replacement Training Center – Fort Knox	Cardinals
Chet Hajduk	2B	Great Lakes Naval Training Station	White Sox
Mickey Harris	P	83rd Coast Artillery/Fort Kobbe	Red Sox
Sam Harshaney	C	Great Lakes Naval Training Station	Toledo (AA)
Fred Hutchinson	P	Norfolk Naval Training Station	Tigers
Johnny Lucadello	SS	Great Lakes Naval Training Station	Browns
Benny McCoy	2B	Great Lakes Naval Training Station	Athletics
Emmett “Heinie” Mueller	2B	Jefferson Barracks	Phillies
Pat Mullin	CF	New Cumberland Army Reception Center	Tigers
Don Padgett	LF	Great Lakes Naval Training Station	Cardinals
Frankie Pytlak	C	Great Lakes Naval Training Station	Red Sox
Johnny Rigney	P	Great Lakes Naval Training Station	White Sox
Kenneth J. “Ken” Silvestri	C	Fort Custer	Yankees
Vincent Smith	C	Norfolk Naval Training Station	Pirates
Johnny Sturm	1B	Jefferson Barracks	Yankees
Cecil Travis	SS	Camp Wheeler	Senators

The roster of the 1942 Service All-Stars. Names in bold indicate the players’ autographs that are present on our team-signed baseball.

Preparing for the game (left to right) 1. Catcher Vinnie Smith practices fielding infield pop-flies. 2.Bob Feller and Frank Pytlak plot against the American Leaguers. 3. Frank Pytlak, Cleveland Indians; Benny McCoy, Philadelphia Athletics; Cecil Travis, Washington Senators; Gordon “Mickey” Cochrane, former manager of Detroit Tigers and now manager of the service team; the great Bobby Feller, Cleveland Indians and Sam Chapman of the Philadelphia Athletics await the start of the game (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Manager Cochrane built the Service All-Stars around a core of 10 Great Lakes Naval Training Station players. Adding four players from the Norfolk Naval Training Station Bluejackets, Mickey had fifteen total naval players (including coach Earnshaw from Jacksonville Naval Air Station). The Army’s representation on the team included a pair from Jefferson Barracks (Missouri), and individuals from Fort Knox (Kentucky), Camp Wheeler (Georgia), New Cumberland (Pennsylvania), Fort Custer (Michigan), and Fort Lewis (Washington). Mickey Harris traveled the greatest distance, arriving from the Panama Canal Zone. Coach Hank Gowdy would receive his commission into the Army on February 6, 1943, and serve at Fort Benning, Georgia.

This stamp indicates that the ball was made for use during the 1940-1942 American League seasons. The manufacturer is Reach and bears the signature of the American League president, William Harridge.

In the realm of collecting autographs, authenticity is the key. With the fraudulent memorabilia that permeates the collector hobby, exercising caution and performing due diligence are paramount for curating in this arena. Many collectors forgo the research steps and defer to third-party authentication (TPA) prior to making a purchase. While this may seem to be the safest approach, TPAs certainly are not infallible. With a combination of research, attention to detail and wisdom, some autographed memorabilia can be safely acquired.

The most commonly forged autographs are typically those of Hall of Fame players as well as those whose signatures are difficult to find. While there are team-signed balls that bear forgeries, they are more of a challenge to be fabricated as it takes a substantial investment in time for fraudsters to research rosters and practice the signatures of players who were seldom asked for autographs. Also, locating vintage baseballs requires a significant investment that can be quickly relegated to the scrap heap with a poorly executed fake autograph.

From the top of the north panel are: Pat Mullen, John Lucadello, George Earnshaw, Cecil Travis, Joe Grace, Chet Hajduk, and Benny McCoy (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

The first step in the analysis was to determine the age of the ball. The Official American League manufacturer’s stamp[1] with the facsimile signature of the league president, William Harridge, dates the ball’s era to 1940-1942[2] which is in alignment with the game’s July 7, 1942 date.

Authenticating signatures is a bit more involved process. Two obvious questions that one may seek answers to are:

1. How does one make the determination of which team signers were members of?
2. What indicators are present to determine the age of the signatures? How can we tell if the autographs were placed in context with the ball’s age?

Before one can attempt to answer the first question, determining whose signatures are present on the ball is a must. Autographs from the 1940s are much more legible than those of contemporary ballplayers but without the ability to read cursive writing, it is virtually impossible to decipher what was placed onto the ball. Creating a list of signatures on each panel would help in identifying if a multi-player, signed ball is from a single team or is simply a collection of autographs. With our ball, the team identity became apparent quickly due to our familiarity with the roster.

The east panel signatures are (from top): Johnny Rigney, Frank Pytlak, Bob Feller, Sam Chapman, and, to the side, Morrie Arnovich (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Aside from the typical oxidation of the horsehide, rendering the original white finish to an even amber color, the absence of impact marks, skids or scuffs shows that the ball was not used in game play. Most of the signatures are dark and legible with a few that show degradation. Only one of the autographs is so faded that it makes it a challenge to read. In analyzing the ink, it is apparent that at least five different pens were employed. Further examination of the signatures reveals each signer’s pressure points and ink-load, revealing steady and confident motions of the pen rather than a person being careful in mimicking someone else’s penmanship.

From the top are: Ernie Andres, Fred Hutchinson, indistinguishable, and John Sturm.

A different angle for a better look at the third signature. From the top are: Ernie Andres, Fred Hutchinson, indistinguishable, and John Sturm.

The south panel bears the signatures (from the top) of: Ken Silvestri, Sam Harshaney, and Mickey Harris.

(Chevrons and Diamonds Collection)

After comparing all the signatures on the ball with known and verified examples, we confirmed that the ball was not only from the July 7, 1942, Service All-Stars team, but that 20 of the 21 signatures were indeed members of the team. Of the players listed on the team’s 25-man roster, the ball appears to lack autographs of Frank Baumholtz, Hank Gowdy, Johnny Grodzicki, Emmett “Heinie” Mueller, and Don Padgett as the one unidentifiable signature is incongruent with known marks from the five men.

 Outpacing the attendance at the Major League All-Star game held at the Polo Grounds the day before by a nearly 2:1 margin, the July 7 game involving the Service All-Stars indicated the interest in seeing them was considerable. It saw 62,094 paid admissions plus an additional 2,000 uniformed service personnel admitted free-of-charge.[3] Conversely, the Major League All-Star Game’s attendance was nearly half, with just 34,178 in attendance at New York’s Polo Grounds. After the 1942 service baseball season drew some opposition from families of service personnel serving in harm’s way, this game appeared to indicate a turning point as armed forces baseball exhibitions served as tremendous vehicles for charitable financial support for the men and women serving in uniform.

Lieutenant Gordon “Mickey” Cochrane’s signature is on the sweet spot with catcher (and future MLB umpire) Vinnie Smith’s signature beneath (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Despite the service team roster featuring eight players with major league all-star appearances in their careers, the star-studded American Leaguers routed them in a 5-0 shutout. The assemblage of military baseball players so early in the war was truly historic despite their loss on such an enormous stage. Curating a baseball related to the game is truly a high-water mark for the Chevrons and Diamonds Collection.

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[1] “Official American League Baseball Dating Guide Index,” KeyMan Collectibles (http://keymancollectibles.com/officialamericanleaguebaseball.htm), accessed March 18, 2023.

[2] “1940-1942 William Harridge Reach OAL Baseball,” KeyMan Collectibles (http://keymancollectibles.com/balls/1940Harridgeoalreachbaseball1942.htm), accessed March 18, 2023.

[3] Grosshandler, Stan, “A Forgotten All-Star Game,” SABR Research Journal Archive (http://research.sabr.org/journals/forgotten-all-star-game), Accessed March 19, 2023.

Historic Game Program Discovery: July 7, 1942 Service All-Stars

By the summer of 1942, the transformation of professional baseball was well underway. Starting with a trickle of personnel hanging up their flannels and spikes to volunteer for wartime service in the armed forces in December, 1941, the exodus of players from major and minor league baseball picked up a head of steam through the Selective Service draft and volunteer enlistments.  

“Immediately after Pearl Harbor, baseball executives began devising scenarios in which the professional game could contribute to the war, even as some were questioning the need for the game’s very existence,” author Steven R. Bullock wrote in his 2004 book, Playing for Their Nation: Baseball and the American Military during World War II. 

Thirty-nine days after the December 7, 1941 Japanese sneak attack at Pearl Harbor, baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis was prompted to dispatch a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt regarding the 1942 season: 

January 14 1942 
Dear Mr. President: 

The time is approaching when, in ordinary conditions, our teams would be heading for spring training camps. However, inasmuch as these are not ordinary times, I venture to ask what you have in mind as to whether professional baseball should continue to operate. Of course my inquiry does not relate at all to individual members of this organization whose status in this emergency is fixed by law operating upon all citizens. 

Health and strength to you – and whatever else it takes to do this job. 

With great respect, 
Very truly yours 

Kenesaw M. Landis 

January 14, 1942 Letter from Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Landis to FDR

Those interested in baseball history know very well President Roosevelt’s famous “green light letter” response. The President detailed the importance of the game – 300 teams employing 5-6,000 players being a recreational outlet to 20,000,000 of their fellow citizens during the tough times the nation was facing. Despite his call for the continuance of the game for the sake of the citizens, the President did not levy any measure of exclusion of players from wartime service, “As to the players themselves, I know you agree with me that individual players who are of active military or naval age should go, without question, into the services. Even if the actual quality of the teams is lowered by the greater use of older players, this will not dampen the popularity of the sport. Of course, if any individual has some particular aptitude in a trade or profession, he ought to serve the Government. That, however, is a matter which I know you can handle with complete justice.” 

By the spring of 1942, with players such as Hank Greenberg, Bob Feller, Sam Chapman, Hugh Mulcahy, Fred Hutchinson, Morrie Arnovich, Cecil Travis and Mickey Harris already serving in the armed forces, baseball owners sought out means to support the war effort by elevating the national morale. St. Louis Cardinals executive Branch Rickey, according to Steven R. Bullock, “expressed the opinion that baseball had an obligation to do everything within its power to bolster the Allied cause, even operating at a break-even level if necessary.”  As baseball was deeply ingrained into the fabric of American life, it was more than just a sport or a pastime to the people, players and owners. Bullock continued, “For Rickey, professional baseball’s fate paralleled the fate of the nation as a whole, and thus the national pastime should not hesitate to drain its resources to support the war effort.” 

Program and scorecard from the May 8, 1942 Navy Relief game played at Ebbets Field (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Major League Baseball as a whole did operate at a loss during the war. Not only did clubs fail to cover costs due to reduced ticket sales, but each club donated money, equipment and other resources. With baseball’s players now serving, the issues and concerns of the troops were brought to the forefront. The Pearl Harbor attack and subsequent losses suffered by the armed forces early in the war illuminated the need to provide financial support to the surviving spouses of troops who lost their lives in service. Beginning with the May 8, 1942 Giants versus Dodgers game at Ebbets Field, Major League Baseball began a wartime campaign to raise funds to address the needs of troops and their families, with monies collected directly supporting Army and Navy Relief organizations, recreational equipment for troops and War Bond drives. Not only did baseball play regular season games to raise funds but professional teams played countless exhibitions against service teams throughout the war in support of troops and their families. 

Perhaps the most notable fund-raising exhibition game was the one that was played early in the war at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium, home of the American League’s Indians franchise. The game was slated to feature the winner of the Major League All-Star game playing host to an assemblage of players serving in the armed forces on the last of the three-day All-Star break, July 7, 1942. The Brooklyn Dodgers were originally slated to host the July 6 mid-summer classic at 35,000-seat Ebbets Field. With more than 50,000 seats available at the neighboring New York Giants’ ballpark, the Polo Grounds, Dodgers president Larry McPhail shifted the game. Inclement weather negated the move as thousands of fans did not attend the game. The National League All-Stars, headlined by Arky Vaughn, Johnny Mize, Mel Ott and Johnny Vander Meer, were favored over the American League led by Lou Boudreau, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon and Spud Chandler. 

National League	Pos	Batting Order	American League	Pos
Jimmy Brown	2B	1	Lou Boudreau	SS
Arky Vaughan	3B	2	Tommy Henrich	RF
Pete Reiser	CF	3	Ted Williams	LF
Johnny Mize	1B	4	Joe DiMaggio	CF
Mel Ott	RF	5	Rudy York	1B
Joe Medwick	LF	6	Joe Gordon	2B
Walker Cooper	C	7	Ken Keltner	3B
Eddie Miller	SS	8	Birdie Tebbetts	C
Mort Cooper	P	9	Spud Chandler	P
Leo Durocher	Mgr		Joe McCarthy	Mgr
Frank McCormick	Rsrv		George McQuinn	Rsrv
Billy Herman	Rsrv		Bobby Doerr	Rsrv
Bob Elliott	Rsrv		Bill Dickey	Rsrv
Ernie Lombardi	Rsrv		Buddy Rosar	Rsrv
Mickey Owen	Rsrv		Hal Wagner	Rsrv
Danny Litwhiler	Rsrv		Stan Spence	Rsrv
Willard Marshall	Rsrv		Dom DiMaggio	Rsrv
Terry Moore	Rsrv		Bob Johnson	Rsrv
Enos Slaughter	Rsrv		Phil Rizzuto	Rsrv
Pee Wee Reese	Rsrv		Jim Bagby	Rsrv
Paul Derringer	Rsrv		Al Benton	Rsrv
Carl Hubbell	Rsrv		Tiny Bonham	Rsrv
Cliff Melton	Rsrv		Sid Hudson	Rsrv
Claude Passeau	Rsrv		Tex Hughson	Rsrv
Ray Starr	Rsrv		Hal Newhouser	Rsrv
Johnny Vander Meer	Rsrv		Red Ruffing	Rsrv
Bucky Walters	Rsrv		Eddie Smith	Rsrv
Whit Wyatt	Rsrv

1942 Major League All-Stars with game line-ups and batting order.

Despite the heavy lumber on both rosters, the game was a pitching duel with the American League hurlers Chandler and Al Benton holding the Nationals to six hits and a run, a leadoff home run by catcher Mickey Owen in the bottom of the eighth inning. With the infield playing at normal depth, Owen had tried to catch the defense flat-footed with a bunt attempt that rolled foul. With a planned citywide blackout fast approaching, fans shouted at the Dodgers catcher to hurry back to the plate, to which he responded by trotting back to the dish from first base. 

All the American League’s tallies came in the top of the first at the expense of starting pitcher Mort Cooper. Lou Boudreau led off the game with a home run. Tommy Henrich followed with a double to right field. Ted Williams hit a fly ball to Joe Medwick in left field and Joe DiMaggio grounded out to Arky Vaughn at third. With Henrich sitting at third base, Rudy York drove a ball over the right field wall for the second and third runs in the 3-1 victory. The game ended at 9:28 p.m. and the victorious American League squad was whisked away to board a train for Cleveland. 

Player	Pos	Order	Branch	Duty Station
Pat Mullin	CF	1	Army	New Cumberland Army Reception Center
Benny McCoy	2B	2	Navy	Great Lakes Naval Training Station
Don Padgett	LF	3	Navy	Great Lakes Naval Training Station
Cecil Travis	SS	4	Army	Camp Wheeler
Joe Grace	RF	5	Navy	Great Lakes Naval Training Station
Johnny Sturm	1B	6	Army	Jefferson Barracks
Ernie Andres	3B	7	Navy	Great Lakes Naval Training Station
Vinnie Smith	C	8	Navy	Norfolk Naval Training Station
Bob Feller	P	9	Navy	Norfolk Naval Training Station
Morrie Arnovich	LF	Rsrv	Army	Fort Lewis
Frank Baumholtz	OF	Rsrv	Navy	Great Lakes Naval Training Station
Sam Chapman	RF	Rsrv	Navy	Norfolk Naval Training Station
Johnny Grodzicki	P	Rsrv	Army	Fort Knox
Chet Hajduk	2B	Rsrv	Navy	Great Lakes Naval Training Station
Mickey Harris	P	Rsrv	Army	83rd Coast Artillery/Fort Kobbe
Fred Hutchinson	P	Rsrv	Navy	Norfolk Naval Training Station
Johnny Lucadello	SS	Rsrv	Navy	Great Lakes Naval Training Station
Emmett “Heinie” Mueller	2B	Rsrv	Army	Jefferson Barracks
Frankie Pytlak	C	Rsrv	Navy	Great Lakes Naval Training Station
Johnny Rigney	P	Rsrv	Navy	Great Lakes Naval Training Station
Ken Silvestri	C	Rsrv	Army	Fort Custer
Mickey Cochrane	Mgr		Navy	Great Lakes Naval Training Station
George Earnshaw	Coach		Navy	Jacksonville Naval Air Station
Hank Gowdy	Coach		Army	Fort Benning

1942 Service All-Stars including starting line-up and batting order.

As the Major League All-Star festivities were taking place in New York, Navy Lieutenant Gordon “Mickey” Cochrane was leading practices for his new assemblage of Army and Navy ballplayers. By Saturday, July 4, Cochrane had assembled a squad of 16 players that included 14 with previous major league experience. “I won’t be able to pick any sort of starting lineup for the Cleveland game until we know whom we are playing,” the current Great Lakes Naval Training Station (GLNTS) Bluejackets manager told the Associated Press. “The major leaguers may beat us Tuesday night, but we’ll put up a helluva argument over the outcome,” LT Cochrane stated, following a Great Lakes 5-0 victory over the Fort Custer Reception Center (Battle Creek, Michigan) team at Detroit’s Briggs Stadium. Both service teams used players that would be among the Service All-Stars for the July 7 game. The Great Lakes squad saw Norfolk Naval Training Station’s (NTS) Fred Hutchinson start the game, with George Earnshaw completing the shutout. Mickey Harris, who had arrived fresh from the Panama Canal Zone, started on the mound for Fort Custer, with Ken Silvestri serving as his battery mate. With nearly 7,000 paid attendees, $10,000 was raised in support of service athletic funds. 

The following day, the enhanced Great Lakes squad defeated an All-Star squad from the Flint, Michigan Amateur Baseball Federation in Flint. The Bluejackets featured Norfolk NTS outfielder Sam Chapman, the New Cumberland Army Reception Center’s Pat Mullin and Camp Wheeler’s Cecil Travis, who accounted for most the GLNTS firepower in the 8-2 victory. 

Out of Uniform: Norfolk’s Sam Chapman and NAS Jacksonville’s George Earnshaw are wearing Great Lakes flannels while New Cumberland Army Reception Center’s Pat Mullin and Fort Lewis’ Morrie Arnovich are topped with Great Lakes’ ballcaps seeming to indicate that this image was captured during one of the two GLNTS games featuring enhanced rosters. The affixed caption reads: “July 3, 1942 – Service All-Stars at the Great Lakes Training Station – Here are stars whose names appear on the roster pf the Service All-Stars at Great Lakes Training Station. Left to right: Emmett Mueller, Philadelphia-infielder; Morrie Arnovich, N.Y. Giants-outfielder; Mickey Harris, Boston Red Sox-pitcher; John Sturm, Yankees-infielder; John Grodzicki, St. Louis Cardinals-Pitcher; Cecil Travis, Washington-outfielder; Ken Silvestri, Yankees-catcher; Pat Mullin, Detroit-outfielder; Lieutenant George Earnshaw, coach; Fred Hutchinson, Detroit-pitcher; Vincent Smith, Pittsburgh-catcher; Bob Feller, Cleveland-pitcher; Sam Chapman, Athletics-infielder.” (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection)

After traveling from Detroit to Cleveland, the Service All-Stars held a workout at Municipal Stadium on July 6 as the American and National League squads squared off in New York. Newspapers were predicting as many as 75,000 spectators for the highly anticipated 9:00 p.m. game. Speaking to reporters a few days before his probable start against the eventual winner of the Major League All-Star game, Bob Feller was candid with his self-assessment. After spending the entire spring pitching for the Norfolk Naval Training Station club, Feller speculated that consistently facing inferior batters led to a dulling of his skills. “You throw to a lot of ham-and-eggers in some of these exhibition games,” he told Blosser. “You can’t keep an edge that way.” Cleveland Fans Cheer Bullet Bob Feller Even in Defeat; Fireballer Wasn’t Sharp for Battle – July 8, 1942 

The 1942 Service All-Stars in posed in their service uniforms, left to right are: 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, Cleveland 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)

The Chevrons and Diamonds collection holds numerous scorecards and programs from service and fund-raising exhibition games from 1942 into 1946. With so many artifacts continuing to surface, we have been able to assemble a broad range that encompasses significant games in all war theaters as well as domestic games. One piece that was on our wish list was the program from the July 7, 1942 Service All-Star game in Cleveland. Over the holiday season, we were able to source and acquire a beautiful example in near-mint condition. 

With the Service All-Stars game being hosted at Cleveland, the game program and scorecards utilized the Indians’ template, incorporating changes tailored for the game including the rosters, the addition of interior pages and a note on the cover regarding the recipient of the funds raised from this game (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Sixteen pages cover-to-cover and printed on cardstock, the entire program (view a full PDF version), save for the scorecard inserted at the center, is the same as was used by the Cleveland Indians for their 1942 season home games. The internal pages are printed in blue monochrome with the covers being both blue and red, two-color printing. In addition to the scorecard with printed lineups and rosters, the program also includes two pages that spotlight the Service All-Stars.

With two pages dedicated to spotlighting members of the service team, attendees were introduced to several of the players such as manager Mickey Cochrane, Bob Feller, Frankie Pytlak, Johnny Rigney and Sam Chapman who were serving in the armed forces and playing in the game (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

The second page of All Service Team Facts featuring Mickey Harris, Johnny Lucadello, Joe Grace, Cecil Travis, Benny McCoy and Johnny Sturm (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Showing the starting line-ups of the July 7, 1942 Service All-Stars vs American League All-Stars, the game scorecard is the centerspread of the game program (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Pre-game festivities included service marching bands and parading ranks of Army and Navy uniformed personnel. The “Clown Prince of Baseball,” Al Schacht, entertained fans while the Service All-Star starting pitcher, Chief Athletic Specialist Bob Feller, warmed up. Soon, Schacht began humorously mimicking Feller and the two began playing off each other for the crowd’s amusement. When the game finally got underway, the home team, the American League All-Stars, took the field with Jim Bagby, Jr. on the mound.  

Listen to the full radio (audio only) broadcast (Waite Hoyt/Bob Elson commentators) of the July 7, 1942 Service All-Stars versus American League All-Stars (the game starts at the 16:10 mark.

Bagby’s first pitch resulted in an easy infield ground ball from the leadoff hitter, Detroit Tigers outfielder Pat Mullin, for the first out of the inning. Second baseman and former Tiger and Athletic Benny McCoy watched four Bagby pitches pass by to earn a free pass. Left fielder Don Padgett strode to the plate and drove one of Bagby’s offerings to deep right center, splitting Tommy Henrich and Joe DiMaggio and dropping for a single. McCoy, with a slight lead off first, waited to see the ball drop before tagging and sprinting to second base. With two runners on base and just one out, former Senator star Cecil Travis worked another four-pitch walk from Bagby.  

With the bases loaded, former St. Louis Browns outfielder Joe Grace stood on the right side of the plate. Having hit .309 with St. Louis in 426 plate appearances in 1941, Grace was a rising star in the American League before entering the Navy. Grace walked nearly twice as much as he struck out, showing that he was decidedly a threat at the plate. Bagby’s first two pitches were off the plate, placing the count decidedly in Grace’s favor and prompting the AL manager, Joe McCarthy, to get Red Ruffing up and warming in the bullpen. Bagby seemed to rebound against the Navy hitter as he pitched the count full before Grace watched strike three land in AL All-Star catcher Buddy Rosar’s mitt. American League umpire Ernie Stewart made the call. 

Now with two outs and the bases still jammed, Johnny Sturm represented the Service All-Stars’ last hope to score. After fouling off the first pitch, the former Yankee grounded to Ken Keltner at third. Keltner easily tagged the bag to retire the side.  

In the bottom of the inning the hometown crowd cheered the match-up of Indians teammates Lou Boudreau and Bob Feller. “Rapid Robert” coaxed the Cleveland shortstop to hit a routine fly ball to Mullin in shallow center field. As easy as the first out came to Feller, the rest of the inning didn’t go his way. Tommy Henrich drove a 1-2 count pitch back to the box, deflecting off Feller’s foot and allowing the Yankees right fielder to safely reach first. With one on and one out, Ted Williams came to the plate to face Feller. Williams worked Feller to a full count before coaxing a walk.  

Centerfielder Joe DiMaggio faced Feller with a runner in scoring position and drove a pitch up the middle into center field, allowing Henrich to score and Williams to reach third. Rudy York stood at the plate with runners at the corners and one out and drove a ball to Joe Grace in right center. Williams tagged and crossed the plate to tally the American League’s second run. Feller coaxed Red Sox second baseman Bobby Doerr to foul out to third base and at least temporarily stop the scoring. 

Showing several of the Service All-Stars during the game. The affixed caption slug reads, “Cleveland, Ohio – July 7, 1942: Here are some of the former major league players now wearing the uniform of Uncle Sam, when they played the American League All-Stars here tonight. Left to right; Frank Pytlak, Cleveland Indians; Benny McCoy, Philadelphia Athletics; Cecil Travis, Washington Senators; Gordon “Mickey” Cochrane, former manager of Detroit Tigers and now manager of the service team; the great Bobby Feller, Cleveland Indians and Sam Chapman of the Philadelphia Athletics.” (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

In the bottom of the second, Cleveland’s Ken Keltner legged out a triple to lead off the inning. Catcher Buddy Rosar followed Keltner with a single just out of reach of third baseman Ernie Andres, scoring Keltner. This led manager Mickey Cochrane to walk to the mound to hook his starting pitcher in favor of Johnny Rigney, a former Chicago White Sox hurler, who proceeded to shut down the American League stars. Rigney kept the AL score at three until he was spelled by Mickey Harris in the bottom of the seventh. Harris was dogged by a leadoff double by Phil Rizzuto, who then swiped third base. Williams, a recipient of three free passes in earlier innings, pounded a triple, scoring Rizzuto from third. Harris got DiMaggio to pop out to Travis at third base before George McQuinn tripled, driving in the fifth and final tally for the Americans as Williams crossed the plate. American League pitching held the servicemen to six hits in the 5-0 shutout. 

 The Service All-Stars had a total of six safeties, with singles by Padgett, Travis, and Sturm and two by Ernie Andres. Cecil Travis had the only extra-base hit, a double. 

 “We lost in the first inning,” Mickey Cochrane told  Associated Press reporter Charles Dunkley after the game. “We had the bases loaded and a single would have changed the whole story. We just muffed a big opportunity. That’s all. You don’t get a chance to beat a team like those American Leaguers every day in the week. Poor Feller didn’t have a thing. I’ve never seen him get belted like that. It proves that he wasn’t there – his duties in the navy robbed him of his timing, his control,” Cochrane concluded. – The Muscatine Journal and News-Tribune (Muscatine, Iowa), July 8, 1942. 
 
“I just couldn’t seem to get loosened up,” Feller told Ray Blosser of the Associated Press after the game. 

When the game’s program-scorecard became available and we were able to secure a deal, it was a boon for our collection, which also includes photographs related to the game. The piece was a target of our search for more than a decade and the only drawback is that our example is unscored.  

See Related Chevrons and Diamonds stories:

• Morrie Arnovich – Breaking Ground for Branch Rickey’s Bold Move
• Sam Chapman – A Lifetime Collection of Images: Star Baseball Player, Sam Chapman, the Tiburon Terror and Wartime Naval Aviator Part 1 | Part 2
• Mickey Harris – Visual Traces of a Wartime Service Career
• Hugh Mulcahy – Visual Traces of a Wartime Service Career
• Mickey Owen – Vintage Leather: Catching a Rawlings Mickey Owen Signature Mitt

Soon after we acquired our game program, a ticket stub was listed by a different seller. Unfortunately, our bid was too low and we missed out on pairing the two pieces together in our collection (image source: eBay).