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).

Keeping Score of Major Leaguers Serving in the Pacific

In looking at my article writing and publishing patterns of the last twelve months, I can see that I have been merely sporadic and entirely lacking consistency. Since the beginning of April, 2017 until my latest article (at the time of writing this), Seals at War, I have only managed to create 20 articles (a 1.67/month average). A simple scan of the titles reminds me of the reason for such inconsistency: this genre of the baseball or militaria hobby is very sparse in terms of the availability of artifacts. I also suspect that with the steady increase of readership of my articles, I am potentially my own worst enemy as my stories are fueling others’ interest in this area of collecting.

Adding only a handful of artifacts to my collection had a direct correlative impact on providing me with my preferred inspirational subject-matter. In the last several weeks, my bank account of inspiration has received some fantastic credits that are changing the year-long, stagnant trend. In addition to landing the 1944 Seals scorebook, the Waldron NAAF Jersey, a magnificent 1920s baseball medal, and my very first military-related baseball which is getting (my) 2018 off to a very bright start…and there is much more to come!

As with baseball, we can’t win every game and that was the case with the auction of the circa-1944 photograph of the U.S. Navy baseball team on Tinian on which my meager bid was summarily beaten, a few short weeks ago. Missed opportunities are a part of life, the game and so go hand-in-hand with collecting. Whiffing on an artifact that would be an absolutely perfect fit for my collection can be frustrating and yet these occurrences are positive in that I gain understanding on those pieces that are in greater demand and thus have more competitors to land them.

In the article I wrote about the 1944 Seals score book, I made reference to the two WWII service teams pieces that I previously purchased. The first one that I acquired, a Program and score card from the Third Army Championship games, hosted in early August of 1945 at Nuremberg Stadium in Germany opened my eyes to how invaluable these pieces are as records of men who played as they served. The second piece that came home was a battered Scorecard from Game 7 of the 1944 Army vs Navy Championship Series played at Furlong Field on Hickam Army Air Force Base. Both of these game are have been well-documented. There is one additional scorecard (article forthcoming) for a USAAF all-star game that I have in my collection.

A few weeks ago, I was watching a few listings from a person who was selling some fantastic pieces of military baseball memorabilia (purportedly acquired from a hobbyist). In seeing how the bidding was proceeding on the three pieces that I was very interested in (two scorecards and a score book) were from World War II and related to specific games that were played between all-star service teams whose teams consisted primarily of professional baseball players.

1. Navy versus Major League All-Stars: Weaver Field, Submarine Base, April 19, 1944
2. Army All-stars versus Navy All-stars: Hoolulu Park, Hilo, Hi
   Friday October 6, 1944
3. Navy vs Army All-Stars| Fourth game in the Central Pacific Championship Series

Each piece already has numerous bids on them when I first saw them and I realized within a short period of time that each one was going to exceed not only what I was willing to pay for any of them but also their market value. The italicized text is intentional as what a particular piece is worth can be highly subjective. With these items having been produced in small numbers (that is my speculation due to the audiences that are believed to have attended the games), there are so few of them and transaction histories are difficult to obtain (I manually track them) which further complicates the discussion surrounding valuation. In the end, the price that one person is willing to pay essentially establishes the value of an item.  For each of these pieces of military baseball ephemera, the excitement of the bidding and the desire to win an auction resulted, in my opinion, inflated final bid prices.

As an aside, less attention was given to a signed team baseball (one of the Navy teams on the rosters contained withing the scorecards) resulting in a very low price and facilitating my ability to land my second military baseball in less than two weeks.

The three items are considerable pieces that shine more light on these little-known games by providing rosters with the names of players, positions, their former teams, branches and, on one roster, the ranks of  the ball players.

1. Navy versus Major League All-Stars: Weaver Field, Submarine Base, April 19, 1944

Navy vs Major League All Stars score card, April 19, 1944 (source: eBay image).

Though my research has yielded no information regarding this specific game, I am confident that in time, I will be able to locate a Stars and Stripes article, at the very least.  Some facts that stand out to me in viewing this artifact lie within the rosters themselves. While the major league all-stars team consisted of mostly major leaguers who were serving in the Navy, one player, Tom Winsett, was serving in the Army.  I am didn’t quite conclude my research to determine which of the Dickey brothers (Bill or George) was suited up for the Major League team however I do know that both served in and played on the Navy teams.  Considering this roster, one would suspect that the odds of a team of naval personnel could pose any sort of a challenge to be rather slim.

Major League All-Stars Roster

Last	First	Position	Branch	Former Team
Casey	Hugh	P	Navy	Brooklyn Dodgers
Dickey			Navy
Felderman	Marv	C	Navy	Chicago Cubs
Ferrick	Tom	P	Navy	Cleveland Indians
Grace	Joe	3B	Navy	St. Louis Browns
Harris	Robert A.	P	Navy	Philadelphia Athletics
Lucadello	John	2B	Navy	St. Louis Browns
Masterson	Walter E.	P	Navy	Washington Senators
McCosky	Barney	CF	Navy	Detroit Tigers
Mize	Johnny	1B	Navy	St. Louis Cardinals
Olsen	Vern	RF	Navy	Chicago Cubs
Pellagrini	Eddie	SS	Navy	San Diego Padres
Reese	Pee Wee	SS	Navy	Brooklyn Dodgers
Winsett	Tom	LF	Army	Brooklyn Dodgers

(Major League players in italics)

The Navy All-Stars team wasn’t simply stocked with neophytes and amateur ball players. Present on the roster for the Navy were five veterans hailing from the Athletics and Senators of the American League.  At least two of the amateurs (Mo Mozzali and John Jeandron) went on to play professional baseball and perhaps continued research will yield more confirmations of post-War athletic careers of these men.

Last	First	Position	Rank	Former Team
Anderson	Arne	P	SM	Washington Senators
Atkinson	Norman E. “Gene”	C	TM2/c	Semi-Pro
Bishop	Tom B.	SS	EM2/c	Semi-Pro
Brady	E. J.	2B	SF2/c
Brancato	Al	SS	SK2/c	Philadelphia Athletics
Brass	T. H.	P	C Sp
Brennen	J. D.	P	EM2/c
Clifford	N. E.	C	MM2/c
Durkin	R. E.	LF	MM2/c
Felonk	A. F.	CF	MM3/c
Harris	Bob	P	SP 1/c	Philadelphia Athletics
Hecklinger	E. T.	1B	GM3c
Henry	G.	P	CBM
Jeandron	John Hubert	3B	PhM3/c	Port Arthur Tarpons
Johnson	A. Rankin	P	YN1/c	Philadelphia Athletics
Madigan	N. J.	P	ML1/c
Masterson	Walter E.	P	C Sp	Washington Senators
McCorkle		C	Cox
Merhoff	F. D.	RF	GM1/c
Meyers	A. J.	1B	S2/c
Meyers	D. T.	RF	S2/c
Mozzali	Mo	LF	TM2/c
Powell	J. H.	CF	MS1/c
Roos	N. S.	P	SM
Sessions	Oscar M.	P	CEM	Navy
Simione	P. S.	CF	BM2/c
Snider	F. T.	RF	SM
Stutz	E. F.	P	CM2/c
Ward	R. L.	3B	CMM
White	C. D.	2B	EM2/c

The list of sailors, playing ball on teams in the Hawaii Leagues, were pulled together from several of the teams to form this All-Star team. Some of the men had prior major league and professional experience (source: eBay image).

The un-scored page is nearly flawless for being more than 70 years old (source: eBay image).

The list of the Major League All-Stars that were fielded in this game were noteworthy (source: eBay image).

This card sold for more than $50 and had 11 bids (source: eBay image).

The fact that a few items surfaced as I was watching this scorecard, I didn’t bother to submit a bid as the price seemed to be capable of exceeding (in my experience) the prices that these pieces normally garner. When the bidding closed, the final price was less than $51.00 but I suspect that the winning bidder had significant bid that would preclude prospective buyers from submitting a reasonable price that would be capable of toppling.

2. Army All-stars versus Navy All-stars: Hoolulu Park, Hilo, Hi | Friday, October 6, 1944

Navy versus Army All Star Game Program. October 6, 1944, Hoolulu Park, Hilo, HI (source: eBay image).

The second of the three scorecards that was sold garnered considerably greater interest (16 bids) as it sold for more than double of the preceding card and that was undoubtedly due to the sheer star power contained within both teams’ the rosters. Though the Army team for this game was fully-stocked with veritable stars taken from the ranks of the majors and minor leagues, the Navy team carried far more stars with major league experience. One of the Army’s star hitters, Ferris Fain, was building a name for himself and taking advantage of the opportunity as he demonstrated his abilities with his Army Air Force team, playing on the team at Hickam Air Field on Oahu. Fain had played four seasons of professional baseball with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League but was making a name for himself prior to enlisting following the 1942 season.  Nine of Fain’s teammates on this Army All-Star team were major leaguers, headlined by seven-time American League All-Star and two-time league MVP, Joe DiMaggio who had also been playing for the Army Air Force team with Fain.

Last	First	Position	Former Team
Ardizoia	Rugger	P	Kansas City Blues
Ashworth	James	C	Helena
Beazley	Johnny	P	St. Louis Cardinals
Clarke	Joe	Coach	Semi-Pro
DeRose	Carl	P	Amsterdam
Dillinger	Bob	3B	Toledo Mud Hens
DiMaggio	Joe	OF	New York Yankees
Edwards	Hank	OF	Cleveland Indians
Erautt	Eddie “Ace”	P	Hollywood Stars
Fain	Ferris	1B	San Francisco Seals
Funk	Eddie	P	Federalsburg, MD
Gautreaux	Sid	C	Brooklyn Dodgers
Gordon	Joe	SS	New York Yankees
Hairston	Hal	P	Homestead Grays
Judnich	Walter	OF	St. Louis Browns
Kohlmeyer	Kearney	SS
Lang	Don	OF	Indianapolis Indians
Leonard	Wilfred	C	Oakland Oaks
Lien	Al	P	San Francisco Seals
Lodigiani	Dario	2B	Chicago White Sox
McCormick	Mike	OF	Cincinnati Reds
Molberg	Dick	P	Semi-Pro
Schmidt	Bill	P	Sacramento Solons
Schmidt	Don	P	Semi-Pro
Shumbree	John	Coach	Semi-Pro
Silvera	Charley	C	Kansas City Blues
Winsett	Tom Winsett	Mgr.	Brooklyn Dodgers

The Navy team, in addition to being considerably larger (37), outnumbered the Army’s major leaugers (9) by more than three-to-one and one could assume that such a talent disparity would result in their dominance in this particular game.

Unlike today’s game in which players routinely migrate from one major league team and league to another, these men were subject to Baseball’s Reserve Clause making them perpetual “property” of their respective teams, indefinitely (until being released or traded). Noting that within these rosters, several major league teammates oppose each other with their respective service teams. It wasn’t until 1947 with Major League Baseball was integrated with the promotion of Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers’ roster (having played the 1946 season at AA Montreal), but in 1944, the Army team featured pitcher Hal Hairston, formerly of the Homestead Grays of the Negro Leagues.

Last	First	Position	Former Team
Adair	Jim	P	Midland Cowboys
Anderson	Arne R.	P	Washington Senators
Atkinson	Norman E.	C	Semi-Pro
Berry	John	OF	University of Oregon
Bishop	Tom B.	SS	Semi-Pro
Brancato	Al	3B	Philadelphia Athletics
Carlin	Jim	OF	Philadelphia Phillies
Casey	Hugh	P	Brooklyn Dodgers
Dickey	Bill	Mgr.	New York Yankees
Dickey	George	C	Chicago White Sox
DiMaggio	Dominick	OF	Boston Red Sox
Evans	Gordon	OF	Charleston Senators
Feimster	Hank	P	Boston Red Sox
Felderman	Marv	C	Chicago Cubs
Ferrick	Tom	P	Cleveland Indians
Grace	Joe	OF	St. Louis Browns
Hallet	Jack	P	Pittsburgh Pirates
Harris	Robert A.	P	Philadelphia Athletics
Jeandron	John Hubert	2B	Port Arthur Tarpons
Johnson	A. Rankin	P	Philadelphia Athletics
Lucadello	John	2B	St. Louis Browns
Masterson	Walter E.	P	Washington Senators
McCosky	Barney	OF	Detroit Tigers
Mize	Johnny	1B	St. Louis Cardinals
Mozzali	Mo Mozzali	OF	Louisville, KY
Olsen	Vern	P	Chicago Cubs
Recca	Sal	3B	Norfolk Tars
Reese	Pee Wee	SS	Brooklyn Dodgers
Rizzuto	Phil	3B	New York Yankees
Rowe	Lynn “Schoolboy”	P	Detroit Tigers
Schulmerich	Wes	Asst. Mgr	Boston Red Sox
Sears	Ken “Ziggy”	C	New York Yankees
Sessions	Oscar M.	P	Navy
Shokes	Eddie	1B	Cincinnati Reds
Smith	Vince	C	Pittsburgh Pirates
Trucks	Virgil	P	Detroit Tigers
Vander Meer	Johnny	P	Cincinnati Reds

This scorecard was printed and distributed for on of the games in what was known as the Army-Navy World Series that was held throughout the Hawaiian Islands from September 22 to October 15, 1944. The Navy bested the Army, eight games to two (in this series) with the ninth game concluding in a 10-inning, 6-6 tie. This scorecard is specific to game 9.

The 16th and winning bid pf $110.36 for this scorecard was considerably out of my price range (source: eBay image).

One added bonus to this scorecard is the listing of the league records and standings of the games played in the Hawaiian league (source: eBay image).

The scorecard at the center of the booklet was unfortunately unused, leaving the results of the game as a mystery (source: eBay image).

The Army All-Star roster featured Sgt. Joe DiMaggio of the Army Air Force (source: eBay image).

Headlining the Navy roster are the likes of the Dodgers’ Pee Wee Reese, Johnny Mize of the Cardinals and Johnny Vander Meer of Cincinnati (source: eBay image).

The back cover of the scorecard shows some considerable discoloration that is probably due to exposure to liquids (source: eBay image).

3. Navy vs Army All-Stars| Fourth game in the Central Pacific Championship Series

Navy vs Army All-Stars| Fourth game in the Central Pacific Championship Series. Naval Air Station Kaneohe versus Fleet Air Wing Detachment (source: eBay image).

The last of the scorecards also originates from the 1944 Army vs Navy World Series. This particular game (the fourth of 11) was played at Redlander Field, Schofield Barracks, September 25, 1944. According to Baseball in Wartime, the game was filled with excitement but would wind up with a fourth consecutive victory for the Navy All-Stars.

“The Navy took an early lead over the Army in the fourth game, witnessed by 10,000, as it jumped on four hurlers for 11 hits. Johnny Mize, ex-Giant first baseman, poled a 360-foot homer in the first inning after Barney McCosky walked, and the Navy scored one in the third and fourth, four in the fifth and single runs in the sixth and seventh to win, 10 to 5. The Army could not get its sights set up til the sixth frame, when five runs rolled over the plate, during which rally Ferris Fain, from the San Francisco Seals, and Joe Gordon, former New York Yankee second baseman, homered, knocking out Virgil Trucks and bringing Schoolboy Rowe, last with the Phillies, to the rescue.

Johnny Beazley, who was the victim in the first game, was hit freely by the Navy and retired in the fifth inning in favour of Ed Erautt, property of the Hollywood Pacific Coast League club, who, in turn, was succeeded by Carl DeRose, New York Yankee farmhand, in the sixth. Hairston finished up on the mound for the Army.”

This scorebook is, by far, the most desirable of the three that were sold. Complete with player photos of the star players, the book consists of multiple pages and, like the previous two scorecards, is unused.  Topping out in both the number of bids (19) and selling price ($122.68), the most desired piece of the three didn’t fail to draw the most attention among the three auctions.

The Rosters for both of these last championship series games are nearly identical with the same combination of major and minor leaguers along with a few semi-professionals and a collegiate ball player.

Army All-Stars:

Number	Last	First	Position	Former Team
13	Ardozoia	Rugger	P	Kansas City Blues
10	Ashworth	James	C	Helena
16	Beazley	Johnny	P	St. Louis Cardinals
30	Clarke	Joe	Coach	Semi-Pro
17	DeCarlo	A.	C
27	DeRose	Carl	P	Amsterdam
1	Dillinger	Bob	3B	Toledo Mud Hens
4	DiMaggio	Joe	CF	New York Yankees
11	Edwards	Hank	C	Cleveland Indians
19	Erautt	Eddie “Ace”	P	Hollywood Stars
7	Fain	Ferris	1B	San Francisco Seals
18	Funk	Eddie	P	Federalsburg, MD
15	Gautreaux	Sid	C	Brooklyn Dodgers
6	Gordon	Joe	SS	New York Yankees
28	Hairston	Hal	P	Homestead Grays
3	Judnich	Walter	RF	St. Louis Browns
22	Kohlmeyer	Kearney	SS
12	Lang	Don	LF	Indianapolis Indians
9	Leonard	Wilfred	C	Oakland Oaks
25	Lien	Al	P	San Francisco Seals
2	Lodigiani	Dario	2B	Chicago White Sox
5	McCormick	Mike	LF	Cincinnati Reds
23	Molberg	Dick	P	Semi-Pro
24	Schmidt	Bill	P	Sacramento Solons
21	Schmidt	Don	P	Semi-Pro
29	Schumbres	J.	Coach
8	Silvera	Charley	C	Kansas City Blues
20	Winsett	Tom Winsett	Mgr.	Brooklyn Dodgers

 

Navy All-Stars:

Number	Last	First	Position	Former Team
12	Adair	Jim	P	Midland Cowboys
26	Anderson	Arne R.	P	Washington Senators
10	Atkinson	Norman E.	C	Semi-Pro
9	Berry	John	RF	University of Oregon
4	Bishop	Tom B.	SS	Semi-Pro
17	Brancato	Al	3B	Philadelphia Athletics
16	Carlin	Jim	LF	Philadelphia Phillies
27	Casey	Hugh	P	Brooklyn Dodgers
28	Dickey	Bill	Mgr.	New York Yankees
15	Dickey	George	C	Chicago White Sox
11	DiMaggio	Dominick	CF	Boston Red Sox
31	Evans	Gordon	LF	Charleston Senators
	Feimster	Hank	P	Boston Red Sox
18	Felderman	Marv	C	Chicago Cubs
28	Grace	Joe	RF	St. Louis Browns
29	Hallet	Jack	P	Pittsburgh Pirates
24	Harris	Robert A.	P	Philadelphia Athletics
20	Jeandron	John Hubert	2B	Port Arthur Tarpons
23	Johnson	A. Rankin	P	Philadelphia Athletics
6	Leibold	David	Bat Boy
5	Lucadello	John	2B	St. Louis Browns
26	Masterson	Walter E.	P	Washington Senators
3	McCosky	Barney	CF	Detroit Tigers
32	Mize	Johnny	1B	St. Louis Cardinals
13	Mozzali	Mo Mozzali	CF	Louisville, KY
30	Olsen	Vern	P	Chicago Cubs
21	Recca	Sal	3B	Norfolk Tars
34	Reese	Pee Wee	SS	Brooklyn Dodgers
2	Rizzuto	Phil	SS	New York Yankees
26	Rowe	Lynn “Schoolboy”	P	Detroit Tigers
30	Schulmerich	Wes	Asst. Mgr.	Boston Red Sox
14	Sears	Ken “Ziggy”	C	New York Yankees
19	Sessions	Oscar M.	P	Navy
29	Shokes	Eddie	1B	Cincinnati Reds
1	Smith	Vince	C	Pittsburgh Pirates
22	Trucks	Virgil	P	Detroit Tigers
27	Vander Meer	Johnny	P	Cincinnati Reds

The scorebook’s introduction addresses the unique nature of the game and the significance of such an event (source: eBay image).

Seeing the profile images of some of the players in their service team uniforms is incredible. These are invaluable tools that I can use in my efforts to identify players in my vintage military baseball photographs (source: eBay image).

These pages do not differentiate which team the All-Stars for which the All-Stars were serving and playing as ultimately, they were one armed force (source: eBay image).

Besides putting the faces to the names, seeing the players in their service team uniforms gives a glimpse into what was worn on the field during the War (source: eBay image).

Unfortunately, this scorecard is in an unused condition (source: eBay image).

The Army All-Star roster is nearly identical to the rosters of the other games in the 11-game championship series (source: eBay image).

The Navy All-Star roster was just too loaded with (now) legendary ball-players to succumb to the Army (source: eBay image).

The original auction listing (Item 352279457271) shows the fierce competition ending with the 19th bid of $122.58 (source: eBay screenshot).

Though the series was billed as a best seven of the eleven games, the Navy had the series nailed shut well ahead of completing all eleven. The military brass wanted to ensure that the service members throughout the Islands had full opportunity to see the baseball legends taking the field with some 10,000 spectators in attendance at each game.

The 1944 Army/Navy All-Star Championship Series in Hawaii

1. September 22 – Furlong Field, Hickam (Navy, 5-0)
2. September 23 – Furlong Field (Navy, 8-0)
3. September 25 – Schofield Barracks (Navy, 4-3)
4. September 26 – Kaneohe Bay NAS (Navy, 10-5)
5. September 28 – Furlong Field (Navy, 12-2)
6. September 30 – Furlong Field (Navy, 6-4)
7. October 1 – Furlong Field (Army, 5-3)
8. October 4 – Maui (Navy 11-0)
9. October 5 – Maui (Army 6-5)
10. October 6 – Hoolulu Park, Hilo (Tie, 6-6)
11. October 15 – Kukuiolono Park (Navy, 6-5)

These two scorecards (or scorebooks) from the 1944 Championship Series (also billed as the Army vs Navy World Series) are unique to their respective games. Combining the two (above) with the one scorecard that I possess tells me that there is a good possibility that there is a potential for seven others to be on the lookout for.