High-Flying WWII Big Island Navy Baseball

During World War II, Oahu was the epicenter for baseball in the Hawaiian Islands. While a handful of former professional baseball players were present on the island in the months following the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, more began to arrive in the spring of 1943. One of them was Chief Athletic Specialist Walter Masterson, who had previously pitched major league ball for the Washington Senators. By 1944, Oahu was a hotbed of talent, with dozens of former major leaguers and players who were previously in the high minors filling rosters of Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Army Air Forces teams throughout the island. While some of the military installations on outlying islands also fielded teams with professional-caliber talent, the level of play was not at the same level as was seen on Oahu. 

Despite the lack of major leaguers, the 10-team AAA League on the big island of Hawaii commenced play on Sunday, April 30, to considerable fanfare from combined crowds or more than 3,000 spectators at Truck and Hoolulu Parks. Aside from the civilian Hawaiis, the balance of the league largely consisted of service clubs from the Army, Marines and Navy. 

Big Island Baseball 
In the last half of April, 1944, the big island’s premier diamond circuit, the AAA Baseball League, announced the participating teams and their managers.  

• Sea Bees – Lt. K. G. MacLeod 
• Air Corps Natives – Lt. John Gordon (first half only) 
• Templeers – Pfc. M. Brustad  
• Rens – Sgt. John Hand (combined with Powderbugs 4 games into the season) 
• Powderbugs – Sgt. Major White (combined with Rens 4 games into the season) 
• Renords – (combined Powderbugs/Rens team)  
• Scrap Irons – Capt. Carl Merrill 
• Hawaiis – Sonny Henderson 
• Banyon Marines – Louis Sillars 
• Navy Flyers – Chief Bill Fowler 
• Navy “Little Varsity” – Chief Daugherty 
• Tank Busters – Georgie Jordan (second half, only) 

Of the ten clubs in the league, only one roster lacked active duty military personnel on its roster. The Hawaiis, like their same-name counterparts in Oahu’s Honolulu League, consisted of local baseball stars and were perennial league contenders. In addition to their high level of talent, the Hawaiis held an edge over the league due to the years of developing cohesiveness, stemming from maintaining roster consistency. While the Hawaiis’ advantage made them an obvious pre-season favorite, another well-stocked team, the Navy Flyers, would contest the prognosticators. Drawing from naval units based at the Naval Air Station (NAS), the Flyers assembled their club with players with prior sandlot, high school, collegiate, semipro, and professional baseball experience. 

Fly Navy 
The Flyers of Naval Air Station Hilo assembled a formidable roster of athletes, including one former minor leaguer, Bob Cummins, a centerfielder who split the 1943 season between the Class “D” Kingsport Cherokees (Appalachian League) and the Roanoke Red Sox of the Class “B” Piedmont League. A few months after the end of the baseball season, Oakland, California native Cummins enlisted on December 27, 1943, and after his boot camp training was stationed on the island of Hawaii. The Flyers’ manager, Chief Athletic Specialist Bill Fowler, took note of Seaman first class Cummins’ baseball credentials and tapped him for duty both in the outfield and on the mound.  

(Source: Hawaii Tribune-Herald)

Chief Fowler had an eye for talent as he constructed the Flyers’ roster, drawing from NAS Hilo commands. A former Bethesda, Maryland area high school three-sport star and University of Maryland basketball and baseball player, Leon Vannais was another catch for the Flyers. He played semipro baseball in 1941 in Hackensack, New Jersey, for the O’Shea’s Glenwoods as a first baseman, outfielder, and pitcher. In the days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Vannais joined the Navy, entering the naval aviation cadet program. Ensign Vannais earned his wings in October, 1942, and completed advanced training at Fort Lauderdale, Florida in 1943 ahead of his assignment to Hilo. Vannais, an aircraft carrier-qualified torpedo dive bomber pilot, was assigned to the Naval Air Station, though his days on land were likely short due to the fleet’s demand for his expertise. 

Flyers first baseman, Francis Guisto (Hawaii Herald-Tribune).

San Leandro, California native Francis Guisto was working as a shipfitter, building Liberty ships at the Richmond Shipyard, Richmond, California. A graduate of Manteca Union High School’s class of 1940, Guisto was one of 50 attendees at a major league tryout camp held in Marysville, California in late July, 1941. The camp was led by C. F. “Al” Chapman, a scout for the Cincinnati Reds organization. During a July 27 exhibition game between the camp squad and the local semipro Orinda Reds, Guisto accounted for the campers’ lone score in the 3-1 loss with a line shot to left centerfield, driving in a base runner. Guisto had another tryout at the end of September, but unfortunately he was not one of the three players, all pitchers, signed to minor league contracts. Guisto entered the Navy in early 1943 and following completion of boot camp, he boarded the USS Republic (AP-33) on July 21, bound for Pearl Harbor. The future Flyers first baseman was transferred to Hilo soon after arriving on Oahu. He was added to the Navy Flyers’ basketball roster as a forward and was touted by the Hawaii Tribune-Herald as a ringer would “give opponents a real headache” (Navy Cagers Look Strong, by Jim Moore, November 29, 1943). 

Hilo’s 1944 Baseball Season  
Pre-season prognostications pointed toward an end-of-season showdown between the two well-stocked clubs: Hilo’s civilian club, the Hawaiis, and the Naval Air Station Hilo club, the Navy Flyers. By the end of the season’s first half of play, the civilian club held a one-game advantage over the Flyers heading into the break. At the AAA League’s mid-season break, five of the Flyers, first baseman Francis Guisto, pitcher George Babich and second baseman Gunnar Hagstrom, were selected as league All-Stars.  

At a mere 145 pounds, the diminutive second baseman, Ensign Gunnar Hagstrom, stared down some of baseball’s giant hitters in pair of games on July 3 and 5, 1944, at Truck Park in Hilo. Arguably the game’s greatest hitter of the 1940s, the “Yankee Clipper,” Joe DiMaggio, was three years removed from his 56-game hitting streak when he stood in the batter’s box against Hagstrom and his Defenders, a squad of the island’s AAA League All-Stars. While many of Hagstrom’s teammates may have been intimidated by the visiting juggernaut 7^th Army Air Force team, sharing the diamond with such talent was nothing new to him. 

Hagstrom’s Navy Flyers club finished the season’s first half of play one game behind the Hawaiis. Though Leon “Lefty” Vannais would have been a shoo-in selection for the AAA All-Stars, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald’s sports columnist, Jimmie Page, reported on June 19 that the Navy Flyers had lost him, their best pitcher. Though his departure to the fleet left a hole in the NAS Hilo’s pitching rotation, Page wrote on July 8, “the Navy Flyers should have about the same kind of club.”   

The two-game series with the 7^th AAF was scheduled by AAA League officials in early June to coincide with the mid-season break.  

All-Star Player	Position	Hometown	AAA Club
Carl Allen	UIF	Denver, CO	Templeers
George Michael Babich	P	Bayonne, NJ	Navy Flyers
John Berutich	OF	San Francisco, CA	Navy Little Varsity
Harry Brooks	OF	St. Louis, MO	Marines
Tom Cancelli	SS	Patterson, NJ	Scrap Irons
Wardell Clyburn	UIF	Englewood, NJ	Renords
James Corbett	C	N. Tonawanda, NY	Navy Flyers
Bill Fowler	Mgr.	Yakima, WA	Navy Flyers
John Fox	OF	Marian, IN	Sea Bees
Francis Guisto	1B	Stockton, CA	Navy Flyers
Gunnar Hagstrom	2B	Pittsfield, Mass.	Navy Flyers
Frank Kendall	P	Canby, OR	Sea Bees
Sam Mamula	3B	Martins Ferry, OH	Marines
Martin Moharsky	P	Kingston, PA	Marines
Tom Peacock	OF	Fort Worth, TX	Navy Flyers
Bob Peterson	UIF	Denver, CO	Sea Bees
Roe Sarsuelo	P	Territory of Hawaii	Hawaiis
Edward Schnelling	C	St. Louis, MO	Templeers
Julius Siegel	OF	Detroit, MI	Templeers

The AAA League’s All-Star “Defenders” roster that faced the 7th Army Air Force during the mid-season break.

The Defenders roster, led by Chief Athletic Specialist Bill Fowler, featured the league’s best pitcher (in the absence of the departed Vannais) in Babich, who, in addition to Hagstrom and Guisto, was accompanied by fellow Flyers Tom Peacock (OF) and Jim Corbett (P) on the All-Star roster.  

The 7^th AAF swept the series with a 5-2 victory in the first game and a 5-0 shutout in the second. The Defenders’ pitching and defense held the great DiMaggio hitless until game two, when he hit a sizzling shot down the left foul line past Hagstrom, who was then stationed at the hot corner. In seven total at-bats, DiMaggio reached base on a single, an error and a walk and scored a run. Facing Frank Saul, former Seton Hall standout, Hagstrom was hitless in four appearances in the first game. Starting at third base in game two, Hagstrom was blanked twice by pitcher Bill Schmidt before he was lifted in favor of the Marines’ Sam Mamula. The 7^th AAF’s pitchers had their way with their hosts, stymieing batters and limiting them to just nine hits in 18 innings.  

Gunnar Arvid Hagstrom, Williams College, class of 1942 (Williams College Gul/Ancestry.com)

Cloudbuster Gunnar Hagstrom 
Though he had never set foot on a professional baseball diamond, the DiMaggio name on an opponent’s roster was not an unfamiliar sight for Gunnar Hagstrom. The year before, while attending Navy Pre-Flight training at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Naval Aviation Cadet Hagstrom had played for the school’s “Cloudbusters,” joining forces with former major leaguers Joe Coleman, Johnny Pesky, Buddy Gremp, Buddy Hassett, Johnny Sain, and Ted Williams on one of the most dominant service teams of World War II, a team which had a 30-9 won-lost record for 1943. Born on January 10, 1920, in Enviken, Sweden, and having immigrated to the U.S. in 1923, Pittsfield (Massachusetts) High School’s Gunnar Hagstrom, class of 1938, lettered in football, basketball and baseball, and captained the school’s cage and diamond squads. He took his athleticism to Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he lettered again in basketball and baseball and served as the captain of the latter team, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1942. Hagstrom returned home and was signed to the semi-pro Mohawk Beverage club of Shire City Twilight League, playing throughout the summer. Hagstrom volunteered for the Navy V-5 Naval Aviation program and was sworn in on August 1. A month later, on September 1, Hagstrom departed Pittsfield to commence his training. 

Following his July 6, 1943, completion of the 11-week Navy Pre-Flight course at Chapel Hill, Hagstrom was assigned to primary flight training at Naval Air Station Glenview, Illinois. Upon graduation, Ensign Hagstrom was assigned to Carrier Aircraft Servicing Unit (CASU) Thirty-One at Hilo, Hawaii and added to the unit’s baseball team ahead of the 1944 AAA Baseball League’s season opener. 

Fordham’s Captain Babich 
Born and raised in Bayonne, New Jersey, George Michael Babich was four-letter high school athlete before heading to Brooklyn to attend college and play on Fordham’s football, basketball, and baseball teams. Starting center for the Fordham University basketball team, George Babich was a powerhouse in the Rams’ starting five and served as the team’s captain. With seven games remaining in the regular season, Babich graduated on January 21, 1943, and entered the U.S. Navy. In addition to his caging duties, Babich saw action on Fordham’s gridiron from 1940-1943 and was the starting left end. On November 28, 1942, the University of North Carolina Navy Pre-Flight Cloudbusters football team visited the Polo Grounds to face the Fordham Rams. Though he did not factor in the 6-0 victory over the aviation cadets, Babich was the starting left end for Fordham, which relied heavily on a ground game. With just two completed passes for 72 total yards, the Rams’ only score occurred in the opening quarter. Babich also played in Fordham’s 1942 New Year’s Day Sugar Bowl victory over the University of Missouri. Following several days of heavy rains, the saturated Tulane Stadium field surface stripped Fordham of their dominant passing game that relied heavily upon Babich at left end, resulting in a sloppy ground game and a 2-0 Rams victory. Babich was ranked fifth in the AP Features’ Poll in all-round college athlete voting (Paul Governali Best in East – News-Pilot San Pedro, March 9, 1943) 

Babich’s skills were refined on a Rams diamond club that also produced several pro ballplayers, including Steve Filipowicz, Al Litwa, George Cheverko, and John Szajna. Six weeks after graduating from Fordham, Chief Babich enlisted into the U.S. Navy on March 9, 1943, and arrived on the big island of Hawaii in the spring of 1944 after completing basic training and the Gene Tunney Athletic Specialist School. 

(Source: Hawaii Tribune-Herald)

(Source: Hawaii Tribune-Herald)

(Source: Hawaii Tribune-Herald)

Second Half Flyers 
Kicking off the second half of the AAA season, a double feature was scheduled for Sunday, July 9, at Hoolulu Park with the early game, a harbinger of the season outcome, featuring the Hawaiis hosting the Navy Flyers.  

George Babich struggled early in the game, allowing four Hawaii runs on three hits in the top of the first inning, but settled down when he returned to the mound in the second inning after his teammates cut the lead in half. The Hawaiis’ Roe Sarsuelo traded goose eggs with Babich for the next six innings, transforming what started off looking to be a high-scoring affair into a pitchers’ duel. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Flyer bats broke through when shortstop John Kennedy dropped a bloop single to drive in the tying run.  

The Hawaiis failed to counter the Flyers in the top of the ninth as Babich’s dominance continued. In the bottom of the ninth, first sacker Francis Guisto, who was 2-4 heading to the plate, crushed a two-run bomb and sealed the 6-4 victory for the Flyers.  

The nightcap game saw the Navy “Little Varsity” capitalizing on eight Renords miscues. The “Little Varsity” batters tallied three runs in the second inning and another one in the eighth. None of the Navy’s three hits scored runs as all four of their tallies were unearned. The Renord batters plated their two runs against Navy’s Johnny Mize, who went the distance. Mize’s bat also accounted for one of the three Navy hits in the 4-2 victory. 

Rank	#	Name	Position	Former/Hometown
CSp (A)	4	George Michael Babich	P	Fordham University
LTjg		Anso Belardinelli	RF/P	Norwalk, CT
	3	Danny Brosman	SS
		Leo Connors	3B
	15	James Corbett	C
	1	Robert Cummins	CF	Roanoke (PIED)
		Melvin Fletcher	Asst. Equip. Mgr.
CSp (A)		Bill Fowler	Mgr.	Yakima, WA
S1/c	12	Francis Guisto	1B	Stockton, CA
Ens.	8	Gunnar Hagstrom	2B	Pittsfield, MA
	2	Harper M. “Bud” Heitmeyer	LF	Oakland, CA
		Bert Irish	Scorer
		Art “Fats” Johnson	Equip Mgr.
	9	John Kennedy	SS	Pellston, PA
	7	Thomas Truman Peacock	LF
		Joe Sirgo	OF	Canton, OH
	17	Tom “Tommy” Sutton	3B/OF
	13	James “Jimmie” Tiger	3B/UT/OF
Ens.		Leon “Lefty” Vannais	P	Hackensack, NJ
	10	Edward Zielinski	RF

The 1944 Naval Air Station Hilo Flyers baseball team. Due to the Navy’s operational needs, some team members did not play the entire season.

Kicking off the second half of the AAA League’s season, Hoolulu park hosted two of the games on July 9, 1944. Click the image to view the entire scorecard (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection)

An Invaluable Game Program 
A recent acquisition of a rare eight-page program from the July 9 pair of games provides a wealth of research data with the rosters of all four teams, AAA League staff and officials, rosters with scorecards, two weekend schedules, and the AAA League ground rules. Though the grids are unscored, the printed rosters of the four clubs are a truly invaluable record. The overall condition of the program is quite good despite having been folded. The binding staples are still strong and the paper has not oxidized or degraded. The cover, printed on heavy orange paper stock, has faded only slightly over the course of nearly eight decades but the monochrome black ink is still very dark and crisp. The paper of the inner pages is lightweight and very typical of wartime service game programs and has yellowed with age. Despite the lack of major league names within the lineups, this scorecard is a highly prized piece within the Chevrons and Diamonds collection due to its scarcity (view a downloadable copy of the entire program)

The top two AAA League clubs faced each other in the second half-opener (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Flying High to the Finish 
The second half of AAA League play saw the Flyers and Hawaiis battling for the top spot in the standings. With an August 4 victory over Little Varsity, the Flyers opened a two-game margin over the civilian club. By September 2, the Flyers held a half-game lead over the Hawaiis as the season was drawing to a close. With a game remaining for each club to play, both the Flyers and Hawaiis suffered losses, keeping the ½-game lead intact and securing the second half victory for the Navy squad. 

The AAA League championship pit the winners of each half of the season for a scheduled best of three series between the Hawaiis and Flyers. The opening game saw Babich hurl all nine innings in a 7-5 victory on September 15. The second game, planned for September 17, was rained out, forcing the first of several rescheduling actions. Knotted at two runs apiece in the 11^th Inning, the umpire called the September 20 game due to darkness. Babich pitched brilliantly for all eleven innings. Another rainout pushed the September 20 game resumption ahead to the 24^th. 

With the series in the balance, league officials made the decision to start fresh, effectively nullifying the tied game. Babich once again took the mound for the Flyers and he held his opponents to two runs on seven hits as the Navy tallied nine on 12 hits in the rout, locking up the AAA championship in two games. 

(Source: Hawaii Tribune-Herald)

In the weeks following the end of the 1944 AAA League season, major league ballplayers returned to the big island to showcase the premier talent that resided on Oahu. In what was essentially a continuation of the Servicemen’s World Series, the star players serving in the Army and Navy competed against each other at Hoolulu Park for the 10^th game of the Series. With a 7-2 record heading into the game, the Navy played to a 6-6 tie.  

Grounded Flyers  
Weeks after his teammates locked up the league title, former star pitcher Lefty Vannais was in the thick of the fight across the Pacific. Vannais, a TBF Avenger pilot, participated in the October 24 Battle of Leyte Gulf, scoring a hit on “what was then believed to be the [Yamato-Class battleship] Musashi,” wrote Philip S. Heisler, Musashi Sinking Revives Plane-Battleship Tiff, The Baltimore Sun, January 28, 1945. “All of the returning pilots agreed that the Musashi was hit repeatedly but continued on her course,” the article continued. “The attack continued throughout the morning and afternoon,” and the mighty ship’s deck was awash by 4 p.m… After the war, the Silver Star and Air Medal-decorated pilot returned to New Jersey. 

U.S. Navy Task Force 38 aircraft, including a TBF Avenger piloted by Leon “Lefty” Vannais, attack the Japanese battleship Musashi (foreground) and a destroyer in the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944 (U.S. Navy Photo).

The 9-2 championship-winning game was Babich’s last in Hawaii as the chief athletic specialist was transferred stateside. Discharged from the Navy on March 15, 1946, Babich returned home to Bayonne, accepting the athletic director position at St. Peter’s College in August. George Babich resumed his athletic career, playing for the North Plainfield Saracens of the New Jersey Football League. He also signed with the Jersey City Atoms for the 1946-48 seasons and saw time with the American Basketball League’s Brooklyn Gothams in 1948 and 1949. In keeping with his three-sport pre-war prowess, Babich also played part of 1948 with the St. Louis Browns’ Port Chester Clippers and part of 1949 with the Stamford Pioneers, both of the Class B Colonial League.  

Bob Cummins, the lone Flyer with pre-war professional ballplaying experience, resumed his career in the Boston Red Sox organization, where he had previously spent the 1942 season and part of 1943 in the minor leagues. The Willows, California native was assigned to the Class “C” San Jose Red Sox of the California League, spending the 1947 and 1948 seasons with that club. In 1949, Cummins was released and subsequently signed in mid-April with the El Paso Texans of the Arizona-Texas League. He was released and added to the inactive list in September, having appeared in just 72 games. In March 1950, Cummins returned to California and signed with the Class “D” Marysville Peaches of the Far West League. After a full season with the Peaches, Cummins hung up his spikes for good to work the next 34 years for Pacific Bell, raise a family and coach youth baseball. 

After winning the AAA League championship, the Flyers roster was broken up. First baseman Frank Guisto joined Gunnar Hagstrom on the CASU Airdales squad for the 1945 season. Under manager Pat Colgan, a former Boston catching prospect from the Eastern League’s Scranton Red Sox, the Airdales posted a 35-5 won-lost record and captured the AAA League crown. With the Japanese surrender, Guisto was discharged and returned home with a very bright baseball future looming ahead. With contract opportunities with the Sox of Boston and Chicago, he opted to stay closer to home and instead played ball with local semipro clubs, including the Stockton Ports, Senior Pro Stockton Braves, and other organizations. He lent his experience to area youth by coaching Little League and led one of his teams to the World Series in Pennsylvania. 

With two AAA League titles under his belt and a discharge from the Navy, former naval aviator LTjg Gunnar Hagstrom returned to Pittsfield and began a career with New England Telephone and Telegraph Company, where he spent his entire post-Navy career until retirement.  

Without much fanfare or media coverage beyond the big island’s shores, the small wartime community of Hilo supported and enjoyed baseball that was an equivalent of that of pre-war high minor leagues. The Navy’s diamond dominance in the Hawaiian Islands was furthered by the Naval Air Station Flyers’ title season in 1944. 

A Hall of Fame Softball Greeting

The impetus behind Chevrons and Diamonds and our curatorial pursuits has always centered on baseball. That term, for us, is quite specific in that it simply refers to the game that was founded in the mid-nineteenth century and is centered upon a 9 to 9-1/4-inch, hide-wrapped and stitched sphere. All the artifacts that we pursue are connected to the history of the game. Some would argue that baseball’s younger brother, softball, is the same game. The debate is an interesting one but in terms of artifacts, the two are distinctly different.

Aside from a handful of artifacts acquired through gifts/donations, the Chevrons and Diamonds collection consists largely of baseball pieces. With the current market trends, pursuits of new items require greater diligence and patience as prices and competition have increased dramatically. Until recently, corresponding softball militaria remained conversely inexpensive, quite literally valued at pennies on the baseball-comparative dollar.

Softball bat, ball and glove prices have risen to a point of being cost-prohibitive. When listed at auction, the bidding can be fierce for pieces that six months ago sold for less than $25 but are now 10 or more times that price. Watching the bidding wars at such auctions is new for us as we were not previously interested in such pieces. When a colleague who shares a similar interest in the absurdity of the bidding sent a link to an auction listing for a wartime softball, I was prepared to follow it for the next several days to see how high the price would climb.

Wartime softball equipment is as diverse in terms of origins and manufacturers as that of baseball material. Pursuing such artifacts requires an amount of due diligence equal to what we spend when we find a prospective baseball artifact. The ball that was shown in the aforementioned auction listing matched what we had seen in the past dozen years; so there was no cause for concern as to the ball’s wartime authenticity. Based upon the $10 starting price, we knew that there would be a significant amount of interest and thus numerous bids. There was something odd about the listing that caught our attention as we were about to click the button to set a “watch.” An option to buy the ball outright was also provided and the price was the same as the starting bid. Without further consideration, we purchased the softball. 

Within moments of submitting the payment, a sense of remorse set in, prompting a second look at the already purchased softball. In addition to the clear indications of use were what appeared to be three signatures on two of the ball’s panels. A closer inspection showed one to be that of former New York Yankees catcher Bill Dickey. The other legible autograph was quite clearly that of former Cubs and Dodgers second baseman Billy Herman. The third was not distinguishable and would have to wait for further examination.

The sweet spot of the ball is marked with the specific model information: Day and Night, Official Softball, Kapok Center, 12-inch (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

With the ball literally in hand, utilizing proper handling techniques to avoid introducing substances such as oils from skin that could accelerate deterioration of the signatures or stamps, we examined the various markings. Paying close attention to the decayed signatures and comparing them against known, authentic autographs from Dickey and Herman that were signed in the corresponding 1940s era, we were able to determine that both were genuine. What was believed to be another player’s signature above Dickey’s looked to be a birthday greeting from the Cooperstown-enshrined Yankees catcher.

Three panels of the ball included manufacturer’s stamped markings including the brand, model and material composition. The maker’s mark, “Universal Sports Co., Empire State Building” was one that is seen on numerous balls; however, we were unsuccessful in locating a definitively matched company.

“This ball built expressly for U.S. Armed Forces” stamp was applied after manufacturing and with long, flat-surfaced rubber stamp. Note the smudged, heavy ink deposits that indicate a rocking motion over the ball (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

 The “Day and Night” feature for softballs was common across softball makers. It enhanced visibility regardless of the lighting conditions. Unlike cork-center baseballs, many softballs had a center of kapok that absorbed the energy when hit, which limited the velocity and trajectory, helped to keep the orb within the field of play and thus made it more challenging to put it over the outfield fence.

The stamping on the ball that truly captured our attention was the one that indicated service use.  Quite obviously applied with a flat rubber stamp (as noted by the heavier ink on the extremities), “THIS BALL BUILT EXPRESSLY FOR U.S. ARMED FORCES” was a departure from the more commonly used “U.S.”, “U.S.N.”, “Special Services U.S. Army” and “U.S. Army.”

With a fair amount of loss, former Yankee catcher Bill Dickey’s autograph is still legible (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

The ball’s covering was quite obviously aging and the signatures had significantly faded. In-person analysis of the signatures removed any doubts that remained at the time of purchase. Confirming both Dickey’s and Herman’s writing, we started on the line directly above Dickey’s autograph and realized that it was not only applied using the same pen as Bill’s, but it was written by the same person. Rather than the writing being a signature, instead we noted that it was a birthday greeting that was also written by Dickey.

Who wouldn’t want an autographed ball signed by Bill Dickey and Billy Herman for their birthday? The birthday greeting was obviously written by the Hall of Fame catcher (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

In the absence of provenance, it is our belief that this ball originates from World War II and can be further pinpointed to 1945 or as early as the last quarter of 1944 after Herman arrived at Pearl Harbor. In addition, we suspect that the signatures were applied while the two were serving in the Navy together on the island of Oahu.

Brooklyn Dodgers second baseman Billy Herman entered the Navy in early March 1944 after being reclassified as 1A by his draft board in early February. Rather than to face the draft, Herman joined the Navy and was sent to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station (GLNTS) for indoctrination and instruction. Soon after his arrival, Herman was added to the station’s Bluejackets baseball team by manager Gordon “Mickey” Cochrane (see: No Amount of Winning Could Ever Offset a Harsh Loss for Mickey Cochrane). Without missing a beat, Billy Herman found himself at home playing second base for the team whose roster included Schoolboy Rowe, Virgil Trucks, and Gene Woodling as well as his 1943 Brooklyn teammate, infielder Al Glossop. In June of that season, Joe Cronin led his Red Sox onto the Station to face the Bluejackets on their home field and walked away with a 3-1 loss. In addition to Virgil Trucks’ masterful 12-strikeout pitching performance, Billy Herman drove Trucks across the plate in the bottom of the eighth to leave the Bluejackets up by two runs heading into the ninth.

Signed in 1945, former Chicago Cub and Brooklyn Dodger Billy Herman’s signature is easily distinguishable despite years of aging (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Many of Herman’s Bluejackets teammates were dispatched to Oahu in the summer ahead of the Service World Series against the Army squad. The future Hall of Fame second baseman remained with Cochrane and finished the GLNTS season. By mid-October, Herman was aboard a ship that was bound for Oahu but would arrive well after the 11^th and final game of the Series.

Herman was not the only ballplayer making his way to the islands at this time. Arriving with the Dodgers second baseman were 33 players ranging in experience from major and minor leagues to semi-professional and amateur baseball. The talent included catchers Manny Fernandez (Dayton Wings), Bennie Huffman (Browns) and Frank Wolf. Pitchers included Johnny Rigney (White Sox), Bob Klinger (Pirates), Hal White (Tigers), Lou Tost (Braves), Lou Ciola (Athletics), Jim Trexler (Indianapolis Indians), Mike Budnick (Seattle Rainiers), Max Wilson (Phillies) and Frank Marino (Tulsa Oilers). The islands were getting a fresh stock of Infielders that consisted of Elbie Fletcher (Pirates), Connie Ryan (Braves), Al Glossop (Dodgers), Merrill “Pinky” May (Phillies), Johnny McCarthy (Braves), Frank Juliano, Gibby Brack (Montreal Royals), Tom Carey (Red Sox), Fred Chapman (Athletics), Sherry Robertson (Senators), Eddie Robinson (Indians), Mickey Vernon (Senators), Buddy Blattner (Cardinals) and Pete Pavlick (Erie Sailors). The outfielder contingent included Red McQuillen (Browns), Dick West (Reds), Gene Woodling (Indians), Red Tramback (Oklahoma City Indians), Barney Lutz (Elmira Pioneers) and Del Ennis (Trenton Packers).

By January of 1945, Lieutenant Bill Dickey had assumed duties as the 14th Naval District’s Athletic Director and was charged with assembling two teams of Navy ballplayers that would tour the Western Pacific for the purpose of entertaining the troops and boosting their morale. It was initially reported that Bill Dickey would be leading the tours, “One of the greatest collections of baseball stars ever gathered will leave the Fourteenth Naval District soon to take baseball, America’s No. 1 sport, directly to the fighting men in the forward fighting zones,” the February 5, 1945, Honolulu Advertiser reported. “The group, headed by Lt. Bill Dickey, USNR, former catching star of the New York Yankees,” the story continued, “heads out on a 14,000-mile trip which is intended to supply the best possible sports entertainment for thousands of men in the Pacific.” However, when the rosters were finalized and the men departed, Bill Dickey, according to Harrington E. Crissey, Jr. in his 1984 book, Athletes Away, “saw to it that he (Dickey) and two other veterans, Billy Herman and Schoolboy Rowe, were excused from going.”

Dickey continued to run the Fourteenth Naval District’s athletic department, which included the baseball league, and aside from umpiring a few early season games, Herman was assigned to the Aiea Naval Receiving Barracks team and played his familiar second base position with the club for the entire 1945 season.

In attempting to validate the softball and the signatures, we must consider several factors. We are certain that the softball is genuine, based upon the materials, construction and markings. We are also convinced that both signatures are genuine, leaving us to speculate on the circumstances that brought those two particular players together to sign the ball.

Since both Dickey and Herman were in Hawaii and serving in the Navy together from October of 1944 through the end of the war, we can easily place them together on Oahu. However, we further speculate that the two men had some sort of bond that went beyond the basic factors. Considering Dickey ensured that Herman was excused from the Pacific tours, we surmise that the two had some sort of a friendship that transcended the obvious. Herman and Dickey faced each other in the 1932 (Cubs versus Yankees) and 1941 (Dodgers versus Yankees) World Series and both men were in their early-to-mid 30s in age and were nearing the end of their professional careers by 1945. Perhaps the ball was signed for a mutual friend of Herman and Dickey.

Displayed with a wartime U.S.N. marked bat and a U.S. marked bat, the wartime softball makes for a simple and tasteful display of authentic artifacts (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Based upon the visible details, it Is our belief that the softball dates from 1945 and was most likely signed in Hawaii by the two future Hall of Famers. Displaying it alongside the Navy-marked bats and gloves only enhances the ball’s visual aesthetic, making it a fantastic addition to the Chevrons and Diamonds collection.

Klipper Day: Marking the End of a Season

Joe DiMaggio’s namesake, Pan Am’s “Yankee Clipper” as seen near Long Island, New York’s Manhasset Bay.

Clip•per
3: something that moves swiftly: such as
a: a fast sailing ship
especially: one with long slender lines, an overhanging bow, tall masts, and a large sail area

During the industrialization in the United States’ infancy, the expansion of trade along with the need for more rapid commerce pushed sailing and ship design technology leading to the development of swift merchant sailing ships.  Predominantly built in British and American shipyards, the wooden clipper ships featured a sleek hull with a narrow beam with three large masts (with square sails and rigging). These ships were built for speedy trans-ocean transits with reduced cargo capacities (from their predecessors) with the intention taking goods to market faster.  Clipper ships’ heyday spanned from the decade preceding the American Civil War and waned as the 1860s came to a close.

The California Clipper (later renamed, “Pacific Clipper) was on a flight from California to Auckland, New Zealand when the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor and the Philippines on December 9, 1941.

This photo of NC18602 “California Clipper” was most-likely taken in the Hawaiian Islands.

Now serving in the U.S. Navy, this (re-designated) C-98 Clipper takes to the skies over Naval Station Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.

Six decades after the Clipper ships were outmoded by steel-hulls and the emergence of steam power, technology and innovation again were brought to bear for rapid trans-Pacific transit of people and cargo. Pan American Airlines sent their requirements for a flying boat out for bid in the mid-1930s with the Boeing Aircraft Company’s proposal being selected in July of 1936. In less than two years, the first Boeing 314 Clipper was test-flown from Seattle’s Elliot Bay in June of 1939. In the previous century, the clipper ships featured massive sail –area to give the vessels incredibly large surface areas to harness the wind to propel them through the water fast. The Boeing 314 Clipper’s design incorporated the enormous wing from the XB-15 that provided the ship with the lift and efficiency required for the ranges the aircraft would be routinely flying.  The first commercial flight of the Boeing Clipper took place in February of 1939 with a six-day flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong.

When an ocean voyage to Hawaii took several days from the U.S. mainland, Pan Am’s Boeing 314 Clipper made the Islands accessible in hours for the more-affluent travelers.

The Boeing 314 Clippers were a sleek and aesthetically pleasing design that looked at home in a tropical paradise on the Pan Am advertising posters.

The Clipper flying boats became an iconic, luxurious mode of travel between the continent and the Hawaiian Islands in their brief, three-year career in commercial air transportation until the Japanese attack on the island of Oahu.  Naval aviation was rapidly evolving and developing in the decade leading up to WWII with the expansion of seaplane and flying boat fleets. One of the largest air bases in the Navy was Naval Air Station (NAS) Kaneohe Bay, located at the foot of the Mokapu Peninsula.

By December 7, 1941, NAS Kaneohe Bay had only existed as a naval air station since the Navy acquired the 32- acre Fort Kuwa’aohe Military Reservation in 1940. In addition to the development of the large runways, taxiways and hangar facilities constructed, the Navy created substantial ramps on the base’s Kaneohe Bay shoreline to accommodate the massive sea plane facility that the naval air station became known for.  As the Japanese attacked their principal objectives at Pearl Harbor, secondary targets such as Kaneohe Bay were also in their sights. Spread around the ramps, moored in the water as well as in near the hangars were 33 Catalina PBY flying boats. Twenty-seven of the massive aircraft were destroyed with the remaining survivors sustaining damage.

Designated as the C-98, Pan Am’s fleet of Boeing 314 Clippers were purchased by the War Department and pressed into service as the airline’s experienced civilian crew continued to fly the aircraft. The Clippers continued to fly Pacific routes ferrying military personnel and cargo with Oahu serving as a routine destination from the mainland. The large protected harbor of Kaneohe Bay already serving as an ideal airport for the Navy’s Catalina flying boats, NAS Kaneohe would seem to be an ideal base of operations for the C-98 Clippers.

Some of the major leaguers on this team include Sherry Robertson (back row, far left) and catcher Marv Felderman (front row, far right) along with Joe Gonzalez, manager and pitcher; Russ Meers, pitcher; Bob Usher, outfielder; and Steve Tramback, outfielder (image source: Harrington E. Crissey, Jr.).

Early into our exploration into baseball militaria, NAS Kaneohe Bay frequently surfaced as we researched various service team ballplayers starting with the 1943 season. Before the arrival of former professional ballplayers (who joined the Navy in the months following the December 7, 1941 sneak-attack), sailors stationed at naval air station at Kaneohe routinely participated in sports such as basketball, football and baseball as the base teams competed in area leagues.

Consistent Chevrons and Diamonds readers will note previous articles that reference the Kaneohe baseball team that featured some well-known former professional players who made their way from the mainland to Oahu and were assigned to the Naval Air Station. With the likes of Johnny Mize (see: Johnny “Big Jawn” Mize, WWII Service and His Elusive Signature) and Marv Felderman (see: A Full Career Behind the Plate with Just Six Major League At-Bats) serving on the 1944 team, the Klippers of Kaneohe fielded a highly competitive team. The baseball team, named in honor of the swift and sleek nineteenth-century sailing ship and the luxurious and far-reaching Boeing 314 flying boat, adopted the altered (spelled with a “K” for an alliterative connection to the bay) name from the football squad. The Kaneohe Klippers name first appeared in print in the Honolulu Advertiser in the fall of 1942.

The final game of the 1945 seaon for the NAS Kaneohe Klippers was played on September 16, 1945 (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Inside the Klipper Day program, this recap mentions the Kaneohe team’s last few games (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

More than just a game, Klipper Day included other festivities to close out the season (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

During the process of researching in support of our aforementioned Marvin Felderman article, a September 8, 1945 Honolulu Advertiser article (penned by W. Austin Joyce) surfaced that made reference to the Klippers’ final game of the season.

“Klipper Day was held for 12,500 fans at Klipper Diamond to honor the Kaneohe Klippers on Sunday, September 16 for the last game of the season. Marv Felderman of the Chicago Cubs said during an interview on the field, “This reminds me of Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.”  The game between the Honolulu Crossroaders and Klippers was a 7-3 victory by Kaneohe. John Berry drove a ball over the left field fence in the fourth followed by one by manager and pitcher, Joe Gonzales.”  – Honolulu Advertiser, September 18, 1945

The managers page provides two photos of the respective team’s skippers (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Even the visiting Crossroaders received star treatment with a page of player photographs (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Although only one page is shown, here, two pages depict the Klippers players in the program (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

The Honolulu advertiser article spotlighted the pre-game festivities  which included a skills competition dubbed a, “Sports-Go-Bang” contest of four separate skills events that pit three players from each team to compete and entertain the large crowd in attendance.

• Fungo Hitting – Dale Jones (Philadelphia Phillies) beat out Ned Harris (Detroit Tigers), Dee Miles (Athletics), Sherry Robertson (Senators) and outslugged four other long distance hitters.
• Distance Throwing – Steve Tramback (Cubs) – secured the win with a 400-foout toss
• Base Running – Bob Usher (Reds) and Dale Jones (Phillies) tied for the win in the base-running event covering the bases in 15 seconds.
• Accuracy Throwing – Dick West (Reds) and Gabe Sady threw the ball into a barrel at second base from the plate. Each winner secured a $25 war bond.

The Klippers’ last game of the season (and of the war) was a victory for the Kaneohe nine as the Honolulu Crossroaders, piloted by former University of California Bears pitcher, Mike Koll, were defeated, 7-3.  In the game within the game, the Kaneohe offense was bolstered by back-to-back fourth inning homeruns by
first-sacker John Berry and manager and pitcher, Joe Gonzales; each earned $25 war bonds for long-ball achievements.

The scoring grid spans two pages with each team’s roster flanking the scorer’s box (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

The scorer’s pages are large and leave considerable room for keeping track of the game. The Kaneohe roster is at the right edge (Chevrons and Diamonds Collection).

Weeks after publishing the Marvin Felderman article, a fantastic piece of military baseball ephemera surfaced on the market that caught our attention due to the very specific mention of “Klipper Day” on the cover. The program booklet and scorecard that was listed was an over-sized, fourteen-page piece and beautifully adorned with photographs and details that mirrored the Honolulu Advertiser story. This Klipper Day scorecard was very obviously created and handed out to the fans in attendance at Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay for the game.

Though most of the professional baseball players returned to their pre-war lives following their service in the Navy and on the Naval Air Station Kaneohe Bay roster effectively ending the high level of play that the local fans were accustomed to, the Klippers nine returned to the diamond in the 1946 season fielding players from the ranks of ordinary sailors.  Unlike the professional ballplayers, the Boeing 314 Clippers did not return to their pre-war duties as Pan American moved on from the flying boats in favor of more efficient long-range aircraft. The Boeing 314s were parked in San Diego where they deteriorated for several years before being sold for scrap.

Klipper Day marked the end of an era for the Klippers of Kaneohe Bay but also coincided with the end of the season of the team’s namesake, the Boeing 314 Clippers, however without fanfare.