American Valor Quarterly Issue 11 - Fall 2014 | Page 11

From the Battlefield

Ballpark
TO THE

A WWII Veter an and Major League
Baseball Player’s Story

From Lou Brissie
Lou Brissie was a Major League Baseball
starting pitcher who played for the Philadelphia
Athletics from 1947 to 1951 and the
Cleveland Indians from 1951 to 1953. But
before he became an All Star pitcher, Brissie
was a decorated veteran of World War II,
garnering the Purple Heart with oak leaf
cluster, a Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge
and the Presidential Unit Citation for his
service.
Brissie’s baseball career began in the Ware
Shoals, S.C. textile league. Once he began
pitching at age 16, his incredible fastball
attracted the notice of Connie Mack and the
Philadelphia Athletics. His turn at baseball
stardom was delayed, however, when his father
insisted that he finish college before playing
professional baseball. Brissie enrolled at
Presbyterian College, but then his future in
school and baseball was delayed by the onset of
WWII.
After enlisting in 1942, Brissie joined the
88th Infantry Division. During his tour in
Italy, Brissie fell into heavy combat where
his unit suffered an artillery barrage. An
exploding shell left him with a shattered left
shin. The injury threatened his shot at playing
in the Major Leagues, but after two years
and 23 major surgeries, Brissie was able to
return to the game he loved. The Philadelphia
Athletics signed Brissie on Dec. 15, 1946.
In 2010, Lou Brissie joined the American
Veterans Center’s second “Baseball Heroes of
World War II” special Veterans Day event
in Washington, DC. Following the event, he
joined with the AVC to share his story.
FALL 2014

I

always loved the game of
baseball and loved to play, and I
just kind of
grew into it. My
hometown of Ware
Shoals, S.C., was a
great place for me
to grow up. They
had good facilities
at the school and
the stadium there.
It was a beautiful
baseball stadium
and field house.
They had a rec
activity during the
summer mornings
for youngsters,
which included
several baseball
teams. And that’s
where I started. I
started that when I
was 12 and stayed
there for two years.
When I was 14, I moved up and
joined the mill leagues. Mill league
competition was tough. Most of the
players in that particular textile league
were former professional players. They
had played either A or AA, and there
were several that I think had played
AAA professional ball. It was pretty
high level competition. It was tough
especially for me, but I found that the
players on my team were all helpful,

which was unusual. I felt that they were
protectiv