Blog Archives
Card Series: 1944 Service World Series – Game 6 Scorecard
Nearly eight decades later, historians and researchers are still discovering artifacts from World War II that are providing details or insights into events, regardless of how well documented they may be. The Service World Series, played in the Hawaiian Islands in the fall of 1944, pitted two teams of former major and minor leaguers from the Army and Navy against each other and featured arguably the best aggregation of baseball talent in the world that year.
Known also as the Servicemen’s World Series or the Army All-Stars versus Navy All-Stars Championship Series, the Service World Series was scheduled as a best-of-seven games matchup for the bragging rights of the best baseball team of the armed forces. Following a competitive season of service baseball in Hawaii in the spring and summer of 1944 that saw a neck-and-neck race between the Aiea Naval Hospital Hilltoppers and the Flyers of the 7th Army Air Force (7th AAF). rumors abounded that Admiral Chester Nimitz wanted to exact some revenge in response to the Army stacking the 7th AAF’s roster and wresting the Central Pacific League crown from the Navy’s front-running Aiea squad.
Drawing personnel predominantly from the McClellan Field (Sacramento) Commanders team that included former major leaguers Walt Judnich, Dario Lodigiani, Jerry Priddy and Mike McCormick along with minor leaguers Ferris Fain, Charlie Silvera, Rugger Ardizoia and Al Lien and later adding New York Yankee stars Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon and Red Ruffing, the 7th AAF team was a powerhouse both on paper and the diamond. After capturing the league title, the Army brass simply added players from other area Army base teams to form their World Series squad.
As the 7th AAF faced Aiea in a three-game championship series, the Navy hoisted players in from as far away as Melbourne, Australia, and from teams throughout the Hawaiian Islands, effectively stacking the deck in their favor in both quality and quantity. The Navy squad featured future Hall of Fame enshrinees Johnny Mize, Pee Wee Reese and Phil Rizzuto along with a bounty of 1940’s major league stars such as Dom DiMaggio, Virgil Trucks, Johnny Vander Meer, Schoolboy Rowe, Barney McCosky and Hugh Casey. They would lead the Navy’s attack on the Army. Ahead of the start of the series, the Army suffered the loss of two key players from the 7th with Joe DiMaggio battling in the summer months and Red Ruffing suffering an injury at the end of the regular season. DiMaggio and Ruffing were sent to the mainland before the first game, further handicapped them against the team being assembled by the Navy.
The Army failed to answer the Navy’s attack and dropped the series in four games to the Navy, being outscored 27-10 in the sweep. The real winners of the series were the uniformed personnel who had tickets to see the games. With 56,500 filling the small venues over the course of the four games, the Army and Navy leadership agreed to extend the series through the scheduled seven games. The Navy claimed games five and six before the Army finally captured a win in the final game. With more than 100,500 fans, the series was a resounding success despite the outcome of the games.
The 1944 Army/Navy All-Star Championship Series in Hawaii
| Date | Score (winner) | Location | Attendance | |
| Friday, September 22, 1944 | Game 1 | 5-0 (Navy) | Furlong Field | 20,000 |
| Saturday, September 23, 1944 | Game 2 | 8-2 (Navy) | Hickam Field | 12,000 |
| Monday, September 25, 1944 | Game 3 | 4-3 (Navy) | Redlander Field | 14,500 |
| Wednesday, September 27, 1944 | Game 4 | 10-5 (Navy) | NAS Kaneohe | 10,000 |
| Thursday, September 28, 1944 | Game 5 | 12-2 (Navy) | Furlong Field | 16,000 |
| Saturday, September 30, 1944 | Game 6 | 6-4 (Navy) | Hickam Field | 12,000 |
| Sunday, October 1, 1944 | Game 7 | 5-3 (Army) | Furlong Field | 16,000 |
Following the close of the series, Dom DiMaggio and Phil Rizzuto were sent back to Australia as the balance of the Navy squad, sans Pee Wee Reese, joined the Army team for subsequent games to be played for troops stationed on the islands of Maui, Hawaii and Kauai. The island tour series, though often considered to be an extension of the Service World Series, was scheduled in early August, 1944. In this second series (or extension of the Service World Series), the Army squad found their stride, winning one and tying another while the Navy picked up two more victories and secured an 8-2-1 record.
- October 4 – Maui (Navy 11-0)
- October 5 – Maui (Army 6-5)
- October 6 – Hoolulu Park, Hilo (Tie, 6-6)
- October 15 – Kukuiolono Park (Navy, 6-5)
Several photographs of the Series games were captured by press and fans alike, with original surviving type-1 examples trickling onto the collector market. Nearly 80 years after the games were played, collectors actively seek ephemera in the form of scorecards and ticket stubs and some pieces occasionally surface from WWII veterans’ estates or their heirs.
Most of the scorecards are simple, bi-folded, single sheet pages mimeograph-printed on basic lightweight paper. Not more than simple roster lists and scoring grids, the known cards are anything but aesthetically pleasing, being completely devoid of artwork, photographs and the typical graphic design elements seen on contemporary major or minor league offerings. The most common of the scorecards to surface on the market are those used for the games hosted at Furlong Field. They feature large block lettering on the front cover, full team rosters on the back and a two-page spread of scoring grids inside the gatefold.
Obtaining scorecards from each game of a major league baseball World Series from the 1940’s would be a daunting task for collectors due to the limited number of surviving examples. However, collectors have an advantage as each scorecard produced for those games is well documented, which is in stark contrast to the Service World Series. At present, the Chevrons and Diamonds Collection is in possession of cards from games four, five and seven and we have seen cards from game one. Regarding cards from the remaining games, we were virtually blind to their designs. With a recent acquisition, the number of remaining unknown scorecards has decreased.
A recent discovery led to an acquisition of the scorecard from the sixth Series game played on Saturday, September 30 at Hickam Field. With 12,000 in attendance, fans saw a game that was tied through eight innings as the Army was holding their own. A first-inning RBI by Ferris Fain, a two-run home run by Joe Gordon and an RBI triple by Mike McCormick tallied four runs and tied the Navy by the bottom of the seventh inning. However, the Navy won on an RBI by pitcher Tom Ferrick, who drove in “Schoolboy” Rowe for the go ahead run, followed by a Rizzuto bunt that scored Pee Wee Reese in the top of the eighth inning. The Army failed to answer in their two remaining frames, leaving the Navy victorious in their sixth consecutive game. The scorecard is scored with the correct 6-4 final tally, but the service member may not have had a good vantage point or was not paying close attention to the game as total hits do not align with the newspaper account. Also out of alignment are the innings and scoring sequence. In addition to the final score, the card also reflects the correct error totals for each team.
This scorecard is mimeograph-printed onto an odd-sized, 9×13-inch, single sheet of lightweight paper with the hand-drawn artwork, basic scoring grid and typed Army roster on the front of the sheet and the Navy’s roster typed on the reverse. This example has some of the typical condition issues that similar pieces exhibit such as creasing, dog-eared corners and brittle areas near the fold lines. The paper has oxidized to a light tan color and the printing shows fading. For the two games hosted at Hickam Field, the Army called the games, “The Little World Series.”
In comparing the scoring against the other games in the series, there is little doubt that our newly acquired scorecard was used for the sixth game despite the insignificant discrepancies. The printed dates on the card (September 23 and 30) combined with the Army roster taking precedence make it clear that this card was used for both games that were hosted at Hickam Field.
With the addition of this Game Six card, the Chevrons and Diamonds Collection now features scorecards from games four, five, six and seven. With this most recent acquisition we can also confirm the design of the scorecard from game two, leaving the design of the card from game three played at the Schofield Barracks’ Redlander Field as the remaining unknown.
Serving Behind the Scenes, Rizzuto Shared His Heart for the Game
In the decade that we have been researching artifacts and players, we have encountered the occasional baseball fan bearing a measure of bitterness and animosity towards the men who played baseball on service teams during World War II. While it certainly is understandable when comparisons are made with players such a s Warren Spahn or Gil Hodges participated in and witnessed some of the most horrific battles of the war. It is far too easy to look at the stories surrounding players like Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams who seemingly entered the war with significant hesitation that appeared to some to be evasiveness when other ballplayers such as Bob Feller, Hank Greenberg, Sam Chapman and Al Brancato volunteered days after the Pearl Harbor attack. Perhaps with perspective and insight into the wartime service of these professional ballplayers and the positive impact they had on their fellow servicemen, that bitterness may lessen.
The very first Norfolk Naval Training Station artifact that landed within the Chevrons and Diamonds collection was a magnificent team photograph of the 1943 Bluejackets. The condition of the vintage type-1 photograph is less than desirable, and the image was a bit overexposed. Regardless of these detractors, the faces of each player are clearly identifiable in the high-resolution scan that we made from the photo. Soon after the acquisition of the photograph, we sourced a scorecard from the first games at Norfolk’s McClure Field against the Washington Senators (see: Discovering the Norfolk Naval Training Station Bluejackets Through Two Scarce Artifacts).
One of the featured players of the Norfolk team was already a budding star in his two-year major league career with 10 games in two trips to the World Series (1941 and ‘42) along with a championship ring. Phillip Francis “Scooter” Rizzuto played his last professional game on October 5, 1942, a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Fall Classic. Two days later, “Scooter” was in Norfolk for boot camp having reported for duty in the U.S. Navy on October 7, 1942. By the spring of 1943, the former Yankee shortstop was filling the same position on Bosun Gary Bodie’s Norfolk Naval Training Station Bluejackets.
With many of the stories of baseball players finding their way onto service team rosters versus serving alongside other Americans in conventional armed forces roles (including combat), there are those who view these professionals with disdain seeing men who found a path to remain outside of harm’s way. Even today, there are those detractors who view these men with great animosity. Perhaps it is safe to make such an assumption that there were at least a few baseball players who could be judged in this manner, however it is far too simplistic and considerably easy to disregard what any of these men thought, felt or actually did, in addition to simply playing baseball. One must consider the impact that the games had on fellow servicemen. To stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Pee Wee Reese, Bob Feller, Joe DiMaggio or any of the hundreds who served and played the game to uplift the GIs and give them respite and a taste of home.
Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) writer, Harry Grayson penned a rather sarcastic commentary (published in syndicated newspapers in mid-October across the U.S.) regarding Cardinals’ pitcher, Murry Dickson being granted a 10-day furlough (from his Seventh Service Command duties) in order to participate in the 1943 World Series versus the Yankees. However, the same opportunity was not afforded to Johnny Beazley, Howie Pollet or Enos Slaughter who were also serving on active duty. What made the inconsistency stand out more, according to Grayson was that Phil Rizzuto was on furlough in New York (to spend time at home before being sent for duty in the South Pacific) and played in a series with the legendary semi-professional Brooklyn Bushwicks as they took on the New London (Connecticut) Coast Guardsmen on September 26. Rizzuto, wearing his Navy service dress blues, was joined by airman (and former Cardinals center fielder) Terry Moore at Yankee Stadium (also dressed in his service uniform). The author mentioned Major League Baseball Commissioner Landis’ prior refusal to accommodate Navy Lieutenant Larry French’s request to pitch for his former club, the Brooklyn Dodgers, while he was stationed at the nearby Navy Yard, illustrating further contradiction. However, Grayson’s punctuating closing sentence that ballplayers, who had been scheduled for an exhibition tour of the Pacific, were left without excuses for duty (other than baseball).
Rizzuto’s time at Norfolk didn’t conclude with the baseballs season as he spent the winter months on the court with the NTS basketball team along with former Dodgers shortstop, Harold “Pee Wee” Reese. By early March 1944, Bosun Bodie was left to rebuild his baseball club due to the departure of Benny McCoy, Charlie Wagner, Tom Earley, Vinnie Smith, Don Padgett, Dom DiMaggio and Phil Rizzuto for new duty assignments. Scooter, Vinnie Smith and DiMaggio landed in San Francisco Bay Area Sea Bees base known as Camp Shoemaker (located near present-day Pleasanton). While further assignment, Dom DiMaggio and Rizzuto were added to the Shoemaker baseball team, the Fleet City Bluejackets. DiMaggio was handed the managerial reins to the club that also included Hank Feimster (former Red Sox pitcher) and former Cincinnati Reds outfielder, Hub Walker. the rand faced the Pacific Coast League San Francisco Seals on April 4 for an exhibition game.
Since late January 1942, the Island of New Guinea was one of the Japanese Empire’s strategic targets with its natural resources and more importantly, its proximity to the Australian continent. With their invasion of Salamaua–Lae, the Japanese began to take a foothold on the island. By the time that Rizzuto and his former Norfolk Teammate, Don Padgett arrived on the Island in the spring of 1944, the Allied forces were amid the Reckless and Persecution operations against the Japanese. During his time in New Guinea, Rizzuto contracted malaria and suffered with a severe bout of shingles requiring his removal to U.S. Navy Fleet Hospital 109, located at Camp Hill, Brisbane, Australia. One serviceman wrote of Rizzuto’s time at the hospital and how he would interact with the American wounded mentioning (Ruby’s Report, The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, July 13, 1944) that Phil would do “everything to keep the patients’ minds off the war. Wrote the young sailor from Kentucky, “I have seen him sit down and answer questions by the hour and never once try to avoid a session of baseball grilling as only a bunch of hospital patients can put on.”
Once he recovered from his ailments, Rizzuto took on duties as an athletic instructor, managing baseball service league while down under. “You’d be surprised how much sport can do to help the men who have just returned from battle.” the shortstop mentioned in an interview with sportswriter, Blues Romeo. Rizzuto’s primary duty in Australia was to organize games and tournaments for the battle-wounded sailors and Marines. “The physically handicapped boys in the hospital got together and formed athletic teams, “said Rizzuto. “They call it the ‘Stumpy Club.’ It’s made up of men who lost legs and arms in battle.” For those critical of baseball players who “got a free pass” from the war might consider the positive impact that many of the former professionals had on their peers. “Despite their handicaps, the men put everything they have into the game.” Rizzuto told the reporter. “At first it’s not a pleasant sight, watching so many guys with crutches, but that’s the kind of stuff that keeps their mind at ease.” the shortstop mentioned. “What guts those guys have!”
Joining Rizzuto in Brisbane were fellow major leaguers, Don Padgett, Dom DiMaggio, Charlie Wagner, Benny McCoy along with a handful of minor leaguers.
Navy leadership had no intentions of losing bragging rights to the Army heading into the Service World Series after watching the heavily stacked Seventh Army Air Force team dominate the 1944 league play on Oahu. While the 7th was busy handling the competition and planning for the fall series, the Navy began assembling top major and minor league talent from the continent and the Pacific Theater.
Back row. left to right: Peskoff (commentator), CDR Steen (Navy Hospital), Kaplan, Giancola, Holland, Briganti (umpire)
Front row: Phil Rizzuto, M. C. Gilley (umpire-in-chief), Dom DiMaggio, Gulin (umpire).
(Chevrons and Diamonds Collection)
Rizzuto and DiMaggio were recalled from Australia in September to Oahu in anticipation of the Service World Series (September 22 through October 15, 1944. Ahead of the series, Navy All-Stars manager, Lieutenant Bill Dickey plugged both Dom and Phil into their normal positions (center field and shortstop, respectively) for a Friday night (September 15) exhibition game against the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base Dolphins at Weaver Field (the Navy All-Stars won, 7-4). Two days later, DiMaggio and Rizzuto switched teams as the Pearl Harbor Submarine Base Dolphins for a regular season game against the Hawaii Leagues champion 7th Army Air Forces squad on Sunday, September 17.
While the Army roster consisted of the 7th AAF team (augmented with players from other Hawaiian base tames) For the series, the Navy fielded a team of All-Stars that would be the envy of either major league. To maximize the top-tier talent, some players were re-positioned from their normal spots on the diamond. Rizzuto was moved to the “hot corner” to allow for Pee Wee Reese to play at short.
1944 Hawaii Service World Series Results:
Game 1 – September 22 – Furlong Field, Hickam (Navy, 5-0)
Game 2 – September 23 – Hickam Field (Navy, 8-0)
Game 3 – September 25 – Redlander Field – Schofield Barracks (Navy, 4-3)
Game 4 – September 26 – Kaneohe Bay NAS (Navy, 10-5)
Game 5 – September 28 – Furlong Field (Navy, 12-2)
Game 6 – September 30 – Hickam Field (Navy, 6-4)
Game 7 – October 1 – Furlong Field (Army, 5-3)
Game 8 – October 4 – Fair Grounds, Kahului, Maui (Navy 11-0)*
Game 9 – October 5 – Fair Grounds, Kahului, Maui (Army 6-5)*
Game 10 – October 6 – Hoolulu Park, Hilo (Tie, 6-6)*
Game 11 – October 15 – Kukuiolono Park, Kalaheo, Kauai (Navy, 6-5)*
*Rizzuto and Dom DiMaggio were sent back to Australia following the conclusion of the seventh game.
With the Army All-Stars defeated handily in the Service World Series, Rizzuto returned to Brisbane and resumed his duties with the service baseball leagues and the “Stumpy Club.”
Following the completion of his duties in Brisbane, Rizzuto was transferred back to New Guinea to the small port town of Finschhafen (which was the site of a 1943 Allied offensive led by Australian forces) that ultimately secured the town and the harbor. Rizzuto was subsequently assigned to the Navy cargo ship, USS Triangulum (AK-102) serving once again on one of the shipboard Oerlikon 20-millimeter cannons anti-aircraft gun mounts as the vessel ferried supplies within the region. As the Triangulum was constantly steaming to keep the troops supplied in the surrounding Bismark and Western Solomon Islands, General MacArthur and the American forces were keeping his promise to return to the Philippines and dislodge the Japanese forces that had been in the Island territory since December of 1941.
By January of 1945, Rizzuto was serving on the Philippine Island of Samar (three months earlier, the Japanese Navy was dealt a deadly blow by the small destroyers and destroyer escorts of Taffy 3 just off the island’s coast) and remained in the region until he was returned to California by the middle of October. Rizzuto was discharge on October 28, 1945 and returned to the Yankees for training camp the following spring having been tempted by a lucrative contract and incentives to play in Mexico.
Whether it was the thousands of cheering service personnel attending the games in which Rizzuto played or his hands-on service rendered to the recuperating combat wounded in Australia, he served in ways that are entirely ignored by critics of wartime service team baseball.
See also:
- O Holy Cow!: The Selected Verse of Phil Rizzuto, by Phil Rizzuto
- Scooter: The Biography of Phil Rizzuto, by Carlo DeVito
- The October Twelve: Five Years of Yankee Glory 1949-1953, by Phil Rizzuto and Tom Horton
- The Phil Rizzuto story, by Milton J Shapiro
- The Scooter: The Phil Rizzuto Story, by Gene Schoor
Accidental Discovery: A Photographic Military Baseball Holy Grail of Sorts
The hits just keep coming. I don’t know how to properly assess the current state of the baseball militaria “market,” but I have been seeing quite a spate of historically significant artifacts being listed for sale over the last several months. In previous months (years, actually), the well has been fairly dry in terms of the sorts of pieces that have been turning up but I am in awe the currently emerging trend. In terms of determining some measurement or rate of success, I am taking a bit of a retrospective look into what I have landed as compared to what has been listed (in concert with those items where I was outbid by more aggressive buyers). As with baseball statistics, the rate of success (such as in batting average) is only part of the picture. Yes, I have landed a fair percentage of the artifacts listed at auction, however it is the quality of the items that I brought home that lies at the heart of my success.
Two of the most recent Chevrons and Diamonds articles touched upon baseball in the Pacific Theater with both the All-Stars games in the Central Pacific and the late-war All-Stars Western Pacific tour. While both of these articles spotlighted auctions that I did not win, all four listings (that were covered in the articles) provided me with invaluable insight and research for upcoming efforts. As hard as it was to not have success with securing any of those pieces, what did come home was comparable, if not invaluable for my collection.
While I have several forthcoming articles currently in varying states of research and drafting, I am finding that, for the majority, their focus lies within the realm of baseball within the Pacific theater. Today’s piece lies directly at that epicenter: World War II baseball in the Hawaiian Islands.
In researching so many of the professional players who enlisted during WWII, I have read or listened to many interviews with players discussing their time in the service of their country. Each one of these men with the opportunity to discuss their war service unhesitatingly reflects upon how the nation was unified in the struggle against the tyrannical Axis forces. These men talk of setting aside their ball-playing careers to join millions of Americans who left their jobs and homes to carry the fight to the enemy. I have had the opportunity to speak with a few legends (Bob Feller and Duke Snider, on separate occasions) in the early 1990s to discuss our time serving in the Navy and to exchange our experiences – having them ask ME about what I did and where I went during my naval career was gratifying. However, not all of the players who set aside their professional flannels, spikes, bats and gloves did so without reservations and self-concern.
Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams at the All-Star Game during their incredible, record-setting 1941 Season (image source: National Baseball Hall of Fame).
Without a doubt, one of the most recognizable baseball players of all time is Yankees’ long-time center-fielder, Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, simply known as “Joltin'” Joe DiMaggio, the “Yankee Clipper.” When the United States was drawn into World War II following the December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor attacks, Joe DiMaggio had only months earlier, concluded one of the greatest offensive seasons by a ball player. That year saw two accomplishments which, after 76 years, each seemingly remains insurmountable. Aside from Ted Williams’season in which he finished with a .406 batting average (which ranks 18th among single-season records) his .400+ average performance is the last of the 20th Century and the only one since Bill Terry’s .401 average 11 years earlier. Considering those two .400+ batting averages, at the beginning of each successive decade (as compared to the seven time it happened during the 1920s and three times in the teens), the difficulties in hitting were obviously on the rise.
William’s accomplishment aside, a ostensibly impossible (to break) record was breached and a new, significantly higher mark was set by the Yankee’s DiMaggio in 1941. The game of baseball is difficult and using the small wooden bat to make contact with a small leather ball (traveling at speeds ranging from 80-105 mph) is so challenging that missing failing to do so, seven out of 10 attempts is considered an impressive achievement (obviously, Ted Williams’1941 season reflected a failure rate of only six times in ten). Failing to put the ball into play and get on base during a game (or even a brief string of games) is a normal occurrence. It is so normal that when players begin to hit safely in a succession of ball games, players, managers, the press, etc. take notice and talk about it when that streak begins to approach 20 games. By 1941, 26 batters had hit successfully in 30 or more consecutive games with the Baltimore Orioles’ (of the National League) “Wee” Willie Keeler holding the record at 45 games (set over the course of the 1896-97 seasons). By today’s standards, 45 games seems to be insurmountable yet Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins reached 38 in 2006 (not to overlook Pete Rose’s 44-game streak in 1978 or Paul Molitor’s 39 in 1987).
More impressive than Keeler’s 45 game-streak was the one accomplished by the Yankee Clipper during the 1941 season. Not only did he surpass Keeler’s mark, he blew past it with 11 additional games, setting the record at 56. Keeler’s record stood for more than four decades and though there were some players who drew close to Willie’s record (Ty Cobb -40- in 1911 and George Sisler -41- in 1922), by 1941, it seemed unreachable. During the streak, both Williams and DiMaggio were slugging it out offensively for both average and power. During DiMaggio’s streak, he would hit .408, clout 15 home runs and drive in 55 runs. He would finish the year in third place behind Williams and Cecil Travis (.357) for batting average and fifth for home-runs (behind Ted Williams-37, Dolph Camilli-34, Charlie Keller-33 and Tommy Henrich-31) with 30. “The Streak” and the .406 seasons are so well-documented and how they happened is known by even the most nominal baseball fan. So impressive was the 56-game streak that mathematical analysis has been brought to bear in order to determine a measurement of probability (or perhaps, impossibility?) of its occurrence.
Joe DiMaggio and his Yankees’ would place a period on the 1941 season by winning the World Series, beating their opponent four games to one on their way to four titles during the decade (after having closed out the 1930s with five titles; four consecutive from 1936-1939). I would be remiss in mentioning that the 1941 National League pennant-winner was my beloved Dodgers having overcome decades of futility on their way to becoming perennial contenders for the next five decades.
It is well-publicized that two days after the Japanese sneak-attack on Pearl Harbor, Bob Feller enlisted into the United States Navy, motivated to serve as so many other American young men (my maternal grandfather, included) in those first few days and weeks. Many from baseball’s major and minor league ranks set their careers aside and joined the fight in the first few weeks. However, several of the games biggest stars did not immediately sign up to serve, Joe DiMaggio included.
Despite the countless images, documents and accounts of Joltin’ Joe’s time during World War II, DiMaggio did not set his career on hold to join the armed forces until February of 1943 after playing the entire 1942 season, despite the early-January, prevailing question (by Commissioner Landis) as to whether the game would continue (and President Roosevelt’s decision and response). Joe was not alone in his avoidance of serving. DiMaggio’s rival batting leader from the Red Sox, Ted Williams hired an attorney to have himself reclassified as 3-A (“Registrant deferred because of hardship to dependents”) being the sole-provider for his mother following receipt of his draft notice in January of 1942. William’s received a torrent of negative publicity and finally enlisted into the Naval Reserve in May but played the entire season (the last game of the year, September 27th, his Red Sox faced DiMaggio’s Yankees where Williams mustered a single, going 1-3 with an intentional walk while Joe was 2-4 scoring two and knocking in three runs, including a 2-run homer) before heading into the Navy’s V-5, aviation cadet training program in early 1943. Joe DiMaggio (apparently begrudgingly) enlisted into the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) on February 17, having previously been granted (like Williams) a 3A deferment status. It should be noted that with the exception of a handful of notable professional ballplayers enlisting in the opening several weeks of the War, most players didn’t join the ranks until the waning months of 1942.
In Joe DiMaggio: A Biography (Baseball’s All-Time Greatest Hitters), according to author David Jones, “DiMaggio resented the war with an intensity equal to the most battle-scarred private. It had robbed him of the best years of his career. When he went into the Army, DiMaggio had been a 28-year-old superstar, still at the height of his athletic powers. By the time he was discharged from the service, he was nearly 31, divorced, underweight, malnourished, and bitter. Those three years, 1943 to 1945, would carve a gaping hole in DiMaggio’s career totals, creating an absence that would be felt like a missing limb.” Though he may have desired to serve as a combat soldier, the Yankee Clipper would find himself serving in a morale-boosting capacity, as a team-member on various Army Air Force service teams, much to enjoyment of thousands of GIs serving both domestically and throughout bases within the Pacific Theater.
By the time that Joe DiMaggio arrived in the Pacific to play baseball with the 7th Army Air Force team (based at Hickam Field), he had already spent the previous 16 months playing for his Santa Ana Army Air Base team as well as an All-Star team managed by Babe Ruth that squared off against the Boston Braves on July 12, 1943. Nearly a year and half spent away from his $40k+ annual salary as he was earning $50 per month along with his GI-counterparts. Aside from performing for the troops, Joe was away from his wife an their shaky-marriage and their small son.
He suffered, according to William Cole in his September 2010 Honolulu Star Advertiser article, Misery filled baseball star’s days in isles during WWII, considerable gastrointestinal problems due to stress leading to being “admitted to the station hospital at Hickam for eight days” on July 9, 1944. The slugger’s time away from duty continued, as on “July 27 DiMaggio was again hospitalized and returned to duty a month later,” which seemed to develop into a cycle. Cole wrote, “He was rehospitalized Sept. 4 for two weeks. Another hospital trip on Oct. 12 led to a stay at Tripler General Hospital for four days.” Cole references a 1945 psychiatric report conducted following Joe’s continued hospital visits throughout the remainder of his time in the service, citing” Although he denies nervous or mental disability, he admits that he has always been moody, and it would appear that he has always been high-strung, irritable, easily aroused and quick-tempered.” According to Cole, “DiMaggio definitely didn’t like the public relations role he was fulfilling.”
The physician noted in his report (as conveyed in Cole’s article), “When he (DiMaggio) was in Honolulu, for instance, he felt he was exploited by being put on exhibition, and, what is more, he feels not to the profit of the Army but rather to increase the income of civilians by gate receipts. He feels that he should have been utilized at all times as a physical instructor, and shows a definite aversion to playing baseball while in the Army.”
Honolulu Stadium (circa 1960s): Drier Manor was located across Isenberg Street (which runs along the bottom edge of this photo) on the right, inside of the left field foul line (image source: scottymoore.net).
Despite the emotional and health issues that were apparently plaguing DiMaggio, he still managed to continue playing baseball for the troops in Hawaii. Days after arriving via an arduous transit (aboard a ship) Joe would participate in a pair of exhibition games played over a five-day period, DiMaggio would crush two memorable home runs, one in each game. The first one would land outside the stadium’s right field on Isenberg Street, traveling 435 feet, in the first game. The second would be a 450-foot mammoth blast, striking the St. Louis College alumni clubhouse, Drier Manor, across Isenberg Street, to the cheers of more than 20,000 fans in attendance.
I have never been interested in collecting Joe DiMaggio. Perhaps my lack of desire for his memorabilia was due to multiple factors ranging from near-loathing of the Yankees due to my allegiance to Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Dodgers to being priced out of the market as a result of the Yankee Clipper’s immense and enduring popularity among baseball collectors. Being interested in DiMaggio’s military service and is playing time during his time on active duty transcends my anti-Yankees stance though still precludes me from affording anything pertaining to his career; especially his stint with the USAAF…until a few weeks ago (more on this ahead).
Sgt. DiMaggio and Petty Officer Reese sign baseballs for Vice Admiral Ghormley and Brigadier General Flood ahead of one of the 1944 Central Pacific Area Championship Series games (image source: Honolulu Star Adviser).
Sgt. DiMaggio poses before batting in a 1944 game at Seattle’s Fort Lawton base. Joltin’ Joe was in Seattle awaiting transport to Hawaii on his way to his 7th AAF assignment (image source: Seattle Times).
A simple internet search for Joe DiMaggio photos from his wartime service yields plenty of images in uniform ranging from his Santa Ana team to one in a Fort Lawton (located in fort Seattle) uniform, however, it is the home uniform of DiMaggio’s 7th Army Air Force team that dominates the (internet search) results. The 7th AAF uniform is very distinctive with its dark shell and white sleeves which makes it one of the most recognizable of all World War II known and photographed baseball uniforms. The jersey is a dark shell with white sleeves with distinctive lettering across the chest spelling out 7th AAF in white. The soutache that encircles the collar and frames the placket is a thin white line of trim while each sleeve has a thin dark line of trim located approximately one-inch in from the edge.
The trousers that accompany this uniform appear to be color-matched to the dark shell of the jersey but the trim on the pants-legs appears to consist of two 1/2-inch vertical stripes extending from the waistband to the cuffs. The cap is also color-matched but with thin, white trim sewn over each seam of the crown’s six panels.
Due to DiMaggio’s enduring popularity among collectors and fans, this (7th AAF) home jersey was one of the first military baseball uniform reproductions to be made (if not the first) by Ebbets Field Flannels (which they mistakenly identified as a road uniform). It is highly-likely that this jersey is the most-popular repro military baseball garment sold (by any maker) which is why, it should be updated to be historically-accurate, though it was originally made based a photographic study as no known examples survived through the decades.
DiMaggio (front row, 2nd from right) with his 1943 Santa Ana Air Force team (image source: Baseballinwartime.com).
One of the most difficult challenges faced by companies in reproducing from black and white images (when an original uniform is unavailable) is color-accuracy. To even the most experienced photography analysts, discerning unknown colors is a near-impossibility. In a conversation (regarding my recent find) with WWII military baseball expert, Gary Bedingfield, while discussing the 7th AAF uniforms, he shared with me a conversation (via an exchange in correspondence in multiple letters traded between Bedingfield and the baseball veteran) that he had with Yankees’ back-up catcher and DiMaggio’s 7th AAF team, Charlie Silvera.
Showing the 7th AAF team at Hickam’s Furlong Field stadium, their home venue (image source: Baseballinwartime.com).
“Their (the 7th AAF) home uniforms were dark green and white,” Bedingfield relayed to me, “although I’ve never seen a color photo of them, the always look black and white.” Bedingfield continued, “they were softball uniforms (that had been) donated to the team.”
In addition to what can be found on internet searches of the dark/white home variant, there are a few photos of the 7th AAF team (including DiMaggio) wearing the road version of the uniform. Not quite as distinctive, this uniform is entirely gray with a thin, dark line of soutache on the placket, around the collar and on the sleeves. The dark lettering across the chest is aligned in an arc (rather than straight across as is on the home uniform).
Now that I have your attention (or perhaps I lost you, dear reader, after taking you through 2,600 words in such a lengthy 3,400+ word-story), I can delve into the incredible (to me, at least) find while searching through online auction listings.
While seeking something completely unrelated, I stumbled upon a scantly-described (no details regarding size, age, etc.) auction listing that was rife with misspellings but displayed an incredible, type-1 photograph of the “Yankee Clipper” wearing the road gray uniform of the 7th AAF. The listing had one person watching and no bids with less than 24 hour remaining and the price was extremely low for what this was. I hurriedly did some research of the photo in trying to determine when and where it was taken and I zeroed in on the stadium in the background and the photographer’s marking in the lower left corner.
The Prize Photo: Joe DiMaggio, taken in June of 1944 as he poses during a break in the action at Honolulu Stadium for Hawaiian Photographer, Tai Sing Loo (author’s collection).
It was obvious to me that the photo was snapped at Honolulu Stadium, the capital city’s all-wooden ballpark (affectionately dubbed, the “Termite Palace” for reasons that require no explanation) with its unusual grandstand design and the facade on the face of both the upper and lower stands. The photographer, Tai Sing Loo, a well-known Hawaiian photog who snapped some of the most iconic imagery of the Pearl Harbor attack as well as of legendary surfer and renowned athlete, Duke Kahanamoku, snapped and printed the photograph during the game action during one of the two exhibition games soon after DiMaggio arrived on the Island.
I had no reservations in setting up my bid, hoping for the best and that no one else found the image as I had. When the auction closed the next day, I was elated to see that mine was the winning bid and I quickly paid the seller for the the photo. After a few days, I received a notice of shipment without a tracking number (it was shipped very economically, without insurance and tracking!!) I prayed and hoped that it would arrive safely and nervously anticipated its arrival. After a few days, I breathed a massive sigh of relief when I pulled the envelope from my mailbox. I quickly opened the parcel to see that the photo was indeed a Type-1 and in excellent condition.
One of the most interesting and mysterious aspects of this photo surrounds a uniform element that is visible on DiMaggio’s left sleeve. In the three examples of DiMaggio in the uniform, none show the 7th AAF shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) on the jersey as is clearly visible in the image that I acquired. In viewing the images of the pages of the program from the fourth game of the Central Pacific Championship Series played between the All-Stars of the Navy and Army, there are hints of what appears to be SSIs on the sleeves of both Ferris Fain and Dario Lodigiani in their player photos. Without the insights from the players themselves, there is seemingly no way to know when or why the SSI was used.
-
- Marine and former minor league pitcher Andy Steinbach congratulates DiMaggio on a Seventh Air Force win (image source: Baseballinwartime.com).
-
- Frank Steinmiller’s 1944 snapshot of his childhood hero snapped at Honolulu Stadium (image source: Honolulu Star Bulletin).
-
- The program and scorecard from the 7th AAF team versus the Maui All-Stars held on September 4, 1944 at the Kahulu Fairgrounds on the island of Maui (image source: Baseballinwartime.com)
-
- S/Sgt. Joseph P. DiMaggio (left) of San Francisco, California, former New York Yankees’ star slugger, gets some help from Brig. Gen. William J. Flood, sponsor of the 7th Army Air Force overall sports program, in sewing on his shoulder patch on June 9, 1944. DiMaggio reported for duty with the 7th AAF in the Central Pacific. (AP Photo/U.S. Army Air Force)
-
- Normally worn on the the left sleeve of the Army Air Forces airman’s uniform, this SSI is (only) visible on DiMaggio’s baseball jersey in the vintage photograph that I acquired.
-
- A close-up showing the 7th AAF SSI on DiMaggio’s left sleeve.
As incredible as it was to add such a fantastic photograph of a baseball legend to my collection, it wasn’t the end of my magical run of success with these significant military baseball-related artifacts from the Pacific Theater.
References:
- Baseball in Wartime profile: Joe DiMaggio
- Joe DiMaggio made a poor soldier, military records show
- Say It Ain’t So, Sergeant Joe
- Air Force History: ‘Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio and the 7th AAF
- Kid from Kapahulu meets DiMaggio at stadium in WWII
- Moiliili bank’s motif a tribute to Honolulu Stadium
Chevrons and Diamonds 