Billy Seal, Jr.: From the Diamonds of the South to the Battlefields of Germany

One of the Chevrons and Diamonds projects that is presently underway centers on researching and documenting the history of one of the European Theater of Operations (ETO) World Series championship contending teams; the Blue and Grays of the 29th Infantry Division (ID). Fueled by the acquisition of an artifacts grouping from a veteran of the 29th ID’s baseball team (see: European Theater Baseball (the 29th Infantry Division Blue and Grays at Nurnberg)), the primary goal of this (multi-part) project will be to discover and present the personalities that comprised the team that found itself just two series wins away from facing the Overseas Invasion Service Expedition (OISE) All-Stars in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) World Series in the fall of 1945.

The ultimate objective of this effort is to fully identify the players on the roster of the Blue and Greys of the 29th to properly illuminate both the wartime service and baseball-playing contributions of the men faced the 71st Red Circlers in the 1945 U.S. Army Ground Forces Championship Series that was played at Nuremberg Stadium. As was the situation with many other teams in the semi-final rounds of the post-season competition, the 29th was a conglomeration of players from opposition 29th Infantry Divisions teams that were homogenized as they were defeated by the Blue and Greys.

Though the Blue and Gray roster was populated with many average Joe ball players, several of the team’s positions were filled by former professional ball players. One of those former pro players was Billy Seal. William Allen Seal, Jr. was born in Danita, Oklahoma and played his way into a solid third baseman prospect and found himself in the Dodgers farm system by 1938.  Though he would never ascend above the AA level, Billy Seal, Jr.  was solid hitter early in his career and would sustain a .314 average in his twelve minor league seasons.  In his first professional season, Seal bounced between the Fayetteville Angels (of the class-D Arkansas-Missouri League) and the Greenville Buckshots (class-C Cotton States League) maintaining consistency at the plate.  The following season Billy Seal split time between Greenville and the Bowling Green Barons (class-D Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League), nearly repeating his 1938 offensive output which the Dodgers didn’t recognize as notable enough to promote him. Midway through the ‘39 season, the Brooklyn was handed a gift from the Red Sox system as they acquired a Louisville Colonels infielder named Harold G. “Pee Wee” Reese.

For the 1940 season, Pee Wee Reese was promoted to the big-league club and Seal would with Greenville for the duration, hitting .323 for the year while legging-out 41 doubles and five triples and pushing his slugging percentage to .451 (in later years, one of Seal’s regimental comrades, George Phillips, recalled, “Billy Seal was a great soldier and served his country with honor. Bill was a professional baseball player who made it all the way to the old Brooklyn Dodgers as a shortstop. Having been in the National Guard he got called up for service and a fellow by the name of Pee Wee Reese took his place,” though some of his details were a bit inaccurate).

At the season’s end, Congress passed the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 (on September 16). One month later, on October 16, 1940, William Allen Seal registered for the draft and continued with his normal off-season work as he awaited spring training. Seal began the year with the Vicksburg Hill Billies (Cotton States League) and was having a career year through the first three months of the season (batting .365 with a .536 slugging percentage in just 67 games) but took his leave from the club to enlist. On July 7, 1941, baseball player Seal began his transformation to become Private William Seal as he enlisted to serve in the U.S. Army, ending his chances at being promoted to the upper levels.

Following his completion of basic training, Private Seal was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas (home of the 2nd Cavalry Division) where he was tapped to play baseball with one of the base teams. Service in the peacetime armed forces for a baseball player could be easy and it was for Seal until everything changed on December 7,1941.

Billy Seal Jr. is pictured here among his brothers in G-Company, 271st Infantry Regiment/69th Infantry Division. This photo was taken on November 14,1944, at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey just prior to the unit’s combat deployment to the European Theater (image source: 69th-infantry-division.com).

In mid-May, 1943, the 271st Infantry Regiment was constituted at Camp Shelby, Mississippi as part of the 69th Infantry Division. After extensive training and preparation, the division departed Mississippi by rail on Halloween bound for Camp Kilmer in New Brunswick, New Jersey. On November 14, 1944, the 69th ID departed New York Harbor by ship en route for Southampton on a 10-day Atlantic crossing. After a few months and a channel crossing, the 271st Infantry Regiment began their combat tour in Western Europe having landed at LeHavre following an uneventful Channel crossing.  After twenty days of travel in vehicles and on foot, Company “G,” along with the entire 271st crossed into Germany and were met with fierce enemy resistance near the town of Hollerath (which lies on the Siegfried Line and is 100 kilometers northeast of Bastogne and where the anti-tank barrier known as “dragon’s teeth” is still very much intact) after just a few days in the “Fatherland.” Baseball was, perhaps the furthest from the minds of the men engaged in their first fight of the war.

As the Germans continued their retreat, Seal’s regiment crossed the Rhine River on March 28, 1945. The month of April found the 271st engaged in fierce fighting with enemy forces in the Battle of Weissenfels on the 12th And the Battle for Leipzig commencing on the 18th. When the combat came to an end by the end of the month, the “Fighting 69th” had been engaged with the enemy nearly continuously since crossing into Germany in late February.

The end of hostilities and combat operations in Europe with the surrender of the Third Reich in May 7, 1945 transformed the massive Allied fighting force to an occupation military that would be left searching for activities and functions for the troops to participate in.  Aside from facilitating the deactivation of a defeated military coupled with investigations and the search for war criminals, occupying the occupation force with such matters left a large percentage of soldiers with very little to do save for basic military drill and instruction.  One activity that Military leadership in the ETO decided upon was in the realm of competitive sports of which, the national pastime was the premier game.

Troops were dispersed throughout the European Theater in accordance with the needs of the occupation functions. Teams were formed within the various commands and leagues were formed. Regional play commenced in the early part of the summer of 1945.

Members of the 69th ID squad seated on the bench during a game. Chicago White Sox infielder, Don Kolloway is seated closest to the camera with Billy Seal to his right.

Earl Ghelf and Billy Seal (right)

(Chevrons and Diamonds Collection)

Following the German surrender, he played for the 69th’s team in the ETO baseball league as they worked their way into the Seventh Army Championship Series, facing the Blue and Grays of the 29th ID, the eventual Seventh Army Champions who would lose in the 1945 ETO World Series in the Fall of 1945.

Former minor league infielder, Billy Seal, Jr. poses for his buddy and fellow minor leaguer, Earl Ghelf ahead of a game (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Billy Seal, Don Kolloway and Earl Ghelf would all depart the Fighting 69th to fill roster spots on the Blue and Grays as they faced the Red Circlers of the 71st ID in the US Army Ground Forces Championship Series. The 71st would defeat Seal and the 29th ID team heading to and winning the Third Army Championship as they ultimately faced and were defeated by the Sam Nahem, Leon Day and the OISE All Stars in the ETO World Series.

Billy Seal returned to the pro game in 1946 with the Chicks and bounced throughout various teams in the South until retiring following the 1953 season. In 12 pro seasons, Seal played 1550 games, 5,810 ABs for 10 different teams and managed a .310 average with a .492 SLG and 165 HRs.

Year	Age	Team	League	Lev	Aff	G	PA	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	BA	SLG	TB
1938	20	Fayetteville	ARMO	D		107		431	158	28	10	13	.367	.568	245
1939	21	2 Teams	2 Lgs	D-C	BRO	140	602	602	193	35	17	9	.321	.48	289
1939	21	Greenville	CSTL	C	BRO	55		237	72	9	5	5	.304	.447	106
1939	21	Bowling Green	KITL	D		85		365	121	26	12	4	.332	.501	183
1940	22	Greenville	CSTL	C		138		561	181	41	5	7	.323	.451	253
1941	23	Vicksburg	CSTL	C		67		274	100	17	6	6	.365	.536	147
1942	24	Fort Riley	US Army	Army Service – Service Team Baseball
1943	25	Camp Shelby	US Army	Army Service – Service Team Baseball
1944	26	Camp Shelby	US Army	Army Service – Training
1945	27	ETO	US Army	Army Service – Combat Operations (through May 6)
1945	27	69th/29th ID	US Army	Army Service -Occupation/Service Team Baseball
1946	28	2 Teams	2 Lgs	B-AA		141	534	534	156	24	9	10	.292	.427	228
1946	28	Memphis	SOUA	AA		43		153	42	5	0	0	.275	.307	47
1946	28	Anniston	SEAL	B	PIT	98		381	114	19	9	10	.299	.475	181
1947	29	Vicksburg	SEAL	B		143		533	185	48	6	21	.347	.578	308
1948	30	Vicksburg	SEAL	B		136		519	144	38	5	19	.277	.480	249
1949	31	2 Teams	2 Lgs	D-B		115	391	391	132	24	2	27	.338	.616	241
1949	31	Anniston	SEAL	B		30		98	32	2	0	4	.327	.469	46
1949	31	Carrollton	GAAL	D		85		293	100	22	2	23	.341	.666	195
1950	32	2 Teams	2 Lgs	B-D		137	464	464	165	41	7	13	.356	.558	259
1950	32	Gadsden	SEAL	B		99		333	118	31	4	9	.354	.553	184
1950	32	Dublin	GASL	D		38		131	47	10	3	4	.359	.573	75
1951	33	St. Petersburg	FLIN	B		138		485	150	34	4	11	.309	.464	225
1952	34	St. Petersburg	FLIN	B		153		554	141	33	4	9	.255	0.377	209
1953	35	St. Petersburg	FLIN	B		135		462	121	17	4	20	.262	.446	206

Two of the three photos in this article were part of a grouping that originated from minor leaguer and veteran pitcher of the 69th/29th Infantry division baseball teams, Earl Ghelf. The Ghelf collection was covered in A Growing Backlog of Baseball History to Share and European Theater Baseball (the 29th Infantry Division Blue and Grays at Nurnberg) in 2018.

Resources:

• History of The 271st Infantry Regiment
• The Fighting 69th Infantry Division
• Baseball in Wartime – Service Games in Europe
• Newsletter – Fighting 69th Infantry Division Association, Inc. Volume 37, No. 1
• Baseball Reference – Bill Seal
• Pictorial history of the 69th Infantry Division, 15 May 1943 to 15 May 1945 – U.S. Army, 1945

European Theater Baseball (the 29th Infantry Division Blue and Grays at Nurnberg)

It seems as though it has been ages since I had the opportunity to write about baseball outside of the Pacific Theater (PTO), especially considering the continuous run of acquisitions (and missed opportunities) that have been associated with the game in this expansive area of World War II operations. Judging by what is sitting in my office that still requires research, photographing (and scanning), I still have more PTO artifacts-bases stories looming on the horizon.

Following the surrender of Germany on May 7th, 1945,at Reims, in northwestern France, the work of of fighting and waging war ended. With so many thousands of servicemen in Europe at that time, the role transition from fighting to that of an occupation force was not something that could be done overnight. From dealing with displaced persons, severely impacted by the Third Reich’s harsh occupation in not only the surrounding countries but also within their homeland and how the victorious occupying forces had to deal with the thousands of (hopefully) disarmed German troops (still in uniform) heading back to their homes along the same routes now traveled by the Allies. The interactions, for the most part were amenable. However, one could see how an allied soldier, still reeling from the loss of a comrade could view the vanquished enemy with a vengeful mindset. The horrors of the Third Reich were continually surfacing with the discovery of each POW, slave-labor and death camp; the emotional impact on the occupation forces were substantial and leadership recognized the need for positive outlets and distracting these men away from the realities as they awaited word on their own disposition (whether they would be discharged or sent to the Pacific Theater).

Baseball leading into and during World War II was truly America’s pastime. Though the game was a few years away from being integrated, Americans (of all ethnicity) had a passion for the game being within the major, negro or the countless levels of minor leagues. Baseball was used to build camaraderie, competitiveness, agility and improve physical conditioning as part of the athletic program in military aviation training programs (such as within the Navy Pre-flight schools) as the need for pilots dramatically increased early in the war. The popularity of the game coupled with the fact that the armed forces were inundated with professional ball players from all levels served, in part, as motivation for creating competitive teams.  As with the teams fielded by the US Army Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps in the Pacific, the European Theater (ETO) saw many professional and semi-pro ball players (and some very good non-pros) filling out their unit rosters.

The cover of the Third Army Baseball Championship series games score card. These games were played in early August, 1945.

Prior to the German-surrender, Baseball had already been imported into Europe in 1942 and played on the Emerald Isle (Belfast, Northern Ireland). Games played between unit teams from the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 133rd Infantry Regiment as well as pitting the 34th Infantry and 1st Armored Division clubs. As American forces were located throughout Great Britain, baseball proliferated England as teams from the various units competed throughout the War.

A few years ago, I published an article (Authenticating a Military Championship Baseball) where I discussed, in addition to the team-signed baseball, the details surrounding this program for the Third Army Championship series played between the 71st and 76th Infantry Division baseball teams in early August of 1945 (three months following VE Day).

The Third Army Championship was a five-game series played in Ausburg, Germany between the 76th Div “Onaways” and the 71st Div “Red Circlers” in August of 1945, having originally been scheduled to commence on the 7th (it was rescheduled due to bad weather – as noted by the hand-written inscription on the cover of the above program). The series wrapped up with the Red Circlers defeating the Onaways as they secured the championship in Game Five with a dominant, 2-hit shutout performance by Ewell Blackwell (who tossed a no-hitter in game two, evening the series with one win a piece).

Not wanting to pass up the opportunity at a grouping from veteran who might have played in the ETO baseball championships, I jumped on this auction (source: eBay image).

Some of the photos adhered to the pages of the photo album depict the men in both baseball and army uniforms source: eBay image).

One of a handful of team photos of the 29th Infantry Division team, this group has a wealth of imagery from 1945 source: eBay image).

Included in the group was this letter, sent to the veteran giving a clue as to where and when he served prior to heading to the ETO source: eBay image).

A few months ago, I spotted an auction listing that was a group containing military sports-related artifacts consisting of photos (both in an album and loose), ephemera and a medal from the ETO in 1945-46. The listing’s images showed glimpses of the photos and spotlighted the (named) engraved medal. Since the auction was hours away from closing when I discovered the listing, I set my bid and planned on researching the group when (if) I won it. A few days after auction close, the package arrived. While the bulk of the photos were merely snapshots, they provided a visual narrative of the veteran’s experiences in the months following the German-surrender as a part of the occupation forces. Images can be seen of baseball players in their flannels (in team poses, warming up or just preparing for games) and the same faces in their Army uniforms in the surrounding areas. Also seen are photos of heavily damaged buildings (from aerial bombardment), artillery emplacements and the Zeppelinfeld (often referred to as Nürnberg Stadium (note: that Nürnberg and Nuremberg are synonymous and interchangeable. The origins of one spelling and pronunciation over the other is unknown and can be the subject of debate),  but better known by American forces as Soldiers’ Field) converted for use as a baseball stadium.

This view of the Zeppelinfeld’s main road that passes between the principal grandstand/dais and the infield as it looked in 1934.

The Zeppelinfeld with the wall of light is filled to capacity with both party members, spectators and military members in ranks on the grounds

Another of the countless party rallies – this one in 1937 supporting the “labor party.”

A beautiful send-off of the Third Reich symbol of evil.

The Zeppelinfeld or “Zeppelin Field” was designed by Albert Speer and would be used by the Nazi socialists for massive rallies to bask in their self-promotion of superiority. With nearly 200,000 (spectators and uniformed military and party and government participants lock-stepped with each other, photos and films from the gatherings began turning the stomachs of people from all over the free world. However, due to the efforts of the Allies, the “Thousand-Year Reich” was abbreviated to slightly longer than a decade and the party symbols were unceremoniously demolished from the structures as the facility would be put to good use by the American occupation forces.

Contained within this group is a veritable walking tour of the newly-named, Soldier’s Field with the Third Army insignia placed not too far from where the emblem of hate was once displayed. Stadium seating, rather than having chairs as within American ballparks, were steps covered with grass to provide natural, comfortable (with the exception of during inclement weather) places to sit and watch the games. An outfield fence with foul poles and a center-field scoreboard situated 400 feet from home plate

The dais outcropping from where der Fuhrer addressed his minions is now a viewpoint adorned with the Third Army’s insignia. The remnants of the swastika at the crown of the building overlooking the stadium are all that remains of the symbol of death.

Taken to the rear of the columns (the field is on the opposite side). the access to the seating areas are visible from the large concourse.

Looking back towards the outfield fences at Soldier’s Field brings back memories of sitting in the outfield upper deck seats at Candlestick Park.

Looking from the break in the grandstands of Nurnberg, one can see the outfield fence along with the right field foul pole.

Noting the outfield fencing from the right foul pole (placed several feet beyond the fence) and the scoreboard in dead-center.

Soldiers relax on the grassy grandstand seating areas along the first base line. Note the backstop below the recently constructed pressbox.

Following their hard-fought victory, the Red Circlers prepared for their next opponent, the Blue and Grays of the 29th Infantry Division who had recently secured the 7th Army Championship heading into the best-of-five series. One of the Blue and Grays pitchers was a nineteen-year-old out of the Midwest, Earl Ralph Ghelf.

Most of the flannels worn in this image have”29th Div.” lettering on the chest and a 29th Division shoulder sleeve insignia on the left sleeve while a few other players are in unmarked uniforms, wearing different caps (from those of the 29th players).

A cursory search shows Ghelf listed on the 29th Infantry Division’s team roster (on Gary Bedingfield’s Baseball in Wartime service teams listing):

29th Infantry Division Blue and Grays (Seventh Army Champions) 1945
Nicholas “Lefty” Andrews	P
Herbert Biedenkapp	RF
Earl Dothager	P
Jack DoBratz
Douglas	C
Earl Ghelf	P/INF	Post-war Minor Leaguer
Grissem	CF
Ken Hess	CF
Lefty Howard	P
Wallace Kale
Don Kolloway	2B	Pre and Post-war Major Leaguer
Whitey Moore	P	Pre-war Major Leaguer
Erwin Prasse	LF/MGR	Pre-war minors and 2nd Team All-American Iowa Hawkeyes End
James Robinson	3B
Bill Seal		Pre and Post-war Minor Leaguer
Robert Lansinger	P	Pre-war minor leaguer
Blalock
Wiater
Sant
Klein

Judging by the scant details (such as first names for many of the players) on the roster, the vintage military newspaper articles were short on information.

The handwritten notation on this photo describes Earl Ghelf (“Big Earl” on the pitcher’s mound) as having “the keen eye and the atom bomb power.” On the back is written, “Remember this, Ghelf, when you pitched a full game this day? I’ll never forget it!” by an unknown photographer.

At Nurnberg Stadium, these three players from the 29th Infantry Division are readying for a game. Their uniforms are adorned with the 29th ID SSI (on the right shoulder) and the 7th Army SSI on their left shoulder (Don Kolloway is pictured holding his Coke on the left).

The 29th Infantry team, while not as loaded with talent as other Army ball clubs, this roster did have a measure of professional ball player talent.  Thirteen of the of the nineteen members of this squad are unidentified requiring research to be conducted just to determine who the men were. Ghelf, one of those identified still requires more in-depth exploration in an effort to determine why his professional baseball career ended before it got started. My goal Ghelf’s photo album is to, at the very least, put the known names to the faces in each of the images and work from there.

Besides Erwin Prasse (far left), picking out any of the players on the 29th is, at present, a near-impossibility. though a roster is available on Baseballinwartime.com.

Two faces that I have positively identified are Don Kolloway and Erwin Prasse (the latter was unconfirmed on the roster until he was positively IDd in Ghelf’s photographs). Kolloway had a 15 year professional baseball career (12 in the major leagues) while giving part of his 1943 year and two additional seasons to his service in the army and was awarded the Bronze Star after seeing combat with the 29th ID. Erwin Prasse was an all-around athlete who was drafted by the Detroit Lions (following his University of Iowa career where he earned nine letters in three sports) and, instead pursued professional baseball and basketball (playing for the NBL Oshkosh All-stars) careers. According to his obituary, Prasse landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day (the 29th ID supported the 116th Infantry) and was later shot in the arm while on reconnaissance in Germany. Following his time in occupied Germany competing on the diamond and the hardwood, Captain Erin Prasse was discharged from the Army in 1946,

I am hoping that perhaps someone will recognize a face or two among the 29th Infantry Division players such as this batter from the Champions of the 7th Army.

Fresh from their 7th Rmy Championship and enjoying a Coke at Nurnberg, these two 29th Infantry Division team members’ uniforms are adorned with both the 29th ID (on the right sleeve) and the “7 steps to Hell” insignia of the 7th Army on their right sleeves.

One of the 29th Division ball players in Germany.

The 7th Army Champions of 1945: The Blue and Grays of the 29th Infantry Division.

German sporting fields were devoid of proper dugouts which forced teams to set up benches along the baselines. Here, the 29th Infantry Division team awaits the call to take the field (major leaguer, Don Kolloway is seated at center).

Most of the flannels worn in this image have”29th Div.” lettering on the chest and a 29th Division shoulder sleeve insignia on the left sleeve while a few other players are in unmarked uniforms, wearing different caps (from those of the 29th players).

My to-be-researched project stack is increasing as I continue to uncover amazing finds and this group will be one that takes a bit of time to work through to completion. In the interim, I still find it rather gratifying to share seldom-seen images of the infamous stadium having been transformed to field suitable for playing the American pastime and photos of one of the successful WWII military baseball teams that is rarely, if at all, mentioned among baseball history aficionados.

For further reading on baseball in the Eastern Theater of Operations see:

• The Amazing Story of the U.S. Military’s Integrated “World Series” in Hitler Youth Stadium in 1945
• Baseball in Europe: A Country by Country History – by Josh Chetwynd
• Baseball in World War II Europe (Images of Sports) – by Gary Bedingfield

With the United States armed forces’ reduction and consolidation of military bases domestically and abroad, the Department of Defense Dependents Schools closed the Nuremberg American High School (that had been using the stadium for sports practices since 1947, ceased in 1995 when the school was closed. The stadium and grounds have been in neglect in the years following. The Norisring auto racing use the surrounding roads including the surface that passes in front of the principal grandstands beneath Nuremberg Stadium’s dais. There is much debate and discussion ongoing regarding the disposition (and proposed preservation) of the grounds and structures (see: Nuremberg: Germany’s dilemma over the Nazis’ field of dreams).