American Valor Quarterly Issue 11 - Fall 2014 | Page 33

eroes
h
Baseball

of world war ii
Adapted from a November 2000 panel discussion
hosted by the American Veterans center

In 2000, the American Veterans Center
& World War II Veterans Committee
hosted the first in a series of events featuring
“Baseball Heroes of World War II.”

with an artificial leg, and returned home to
pitch one game with the Washington Senators
- the first man with an artificial leg to pitch in
Major League Baseball.

Thousands of professional baseball players
from all levels of the game served in the
military during World War II. Joining the
event were several of the most high-profile
players of their era.

The American Veterans Center is honored
to have known these men,
each of whom have since
passed away, and to help
preserve their stories of
service. The following is
the transcript of that panel
event, which took place on
Veterans Day, 2000.

Two of the game’s pitching greats, Bob
Feller and Warren Spahn both saw extensive
combat during the war. Feller as a gun
captain on the USS Alabama, and Spahn
as a combat engineer with the Army in the
European Campaign.
Tommy Henrich, nicknamed “Old
Reliable,” spent 11 seasons with the New
York Yankees from 1937-1950, playing with
such greats as Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio,
and Yogi Berra. He served in the Coast
Guard during the war.
Buck O’Neil was a star player in the
Negro Leagues at the time the U.S. entered
World War II, and served in the Navy from
1943-45. He would become best known for
being the first African American coach in the
Major Leagues, and led the effort to create the
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas
City.
Bert Shepard was a rising minor league
baseball star who served as a fighter pilot
during the war. On his 34th combat mission,
he was shot down over Germany, losing his
left leg in the crash. While a prisoner of war,
Shepard taught himself how to walk and pitch
FALL 2014

Jim Roberts: I’m
here to introduce this
panel which we’ve
entitled “Baseball
Heroes of World
War II.” The five
players are Bob Feller,
Tommy Henrich,
Buck O’Neil, Bert
Shepard and Warren
Spahn. They are all
in Washington today,
November 11, 2000,
for the groundbreaking of the World
War II Memorial on the Mall and to
be honored at the American Veterans
Center’s Third Annual Honors gala.
Serving as moderator for this
program is Gene Pell, former
broadcaster and anchor for NBC
television and former director of the
Voice of America. Joining Gene as
panelists are Bill Gilbert, author of 18

books, including six on baseball, and
Bob Linder, professor at Kansas State
University.
At this time I will turn the program
over to Gene Pell.

BOB FELLER VOLUNTEERED FOR
THE NAVY TWO DAYS AFTER
PEARL HARBOR, THE FIRST
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETE TO
JOIN THE MILITARY AFTER
THE U.S. ENTERED WORLD
WAR II. HE WOULD MISS FOUR
SEASONS OF BASEBALL
DUE TO HIS SERVICE.
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