American Valor Quarterly Issue 11 - Fall 2014 | Page 38

own accord. And I could have been
on there when it went down, but
fortunately I was taking over control
of the bridge at four o’clock in the
afternoon and it happening at two
minutes of four.
Gene Pell: Well that was good luck
for the Boston Braves, no doubt about
that. Buck, tell us about how you got
into the service.
Buck O’Neil: I got into the service
after the season in 1943. When I went

Gene Pell: Tommy, how about you?
Tommy Henrich: I was drafted
out of Massillon, Ohio. I had three
brothers that went in the last two and
a half months before me. The draft
board in Massillon, Ohio said, “you’re
next,” so I went in. The date was
September 1st.
The last day in August we were
playing Detroit in New York. I
came up in the late innings and the
loudspeaker system said, “Attention,

fastball, and I punch a good line drive
to center field. But to this moment, I
think Dizzy Trout is a great guy for
giving me six straight fastballs.
Gene Pell: Let me ask our historian,
Bob Linder. The president wanted the
game to continue because it was good
morale for the American people. Is
there any evidence to support the fact
that the crowds still turned out, the
same way, despite the fact so many
players were overseas?
Bob Linder: The crowds turned
out. The St. Louis Browns never had
much of a crowd before the war. It
continued in that vein. But, for the
most part, the crowds turned out.
It’s also at this time that Bill Wrigley
invented the All-American Girls
Professional Baseball League, which is
a great page in our history. That lasted
not only through the war but several
years afterward and I think it was a
tremendous morale booster for the
American people.

BUCK O’NEIL WAS STATIONED IN SUBIC BAY DURING WORLD WAR
II. AFTER TWO YEARS OF SERVICE, HE RETURNED TO HIS BASEBALL
CAREER WITH THE KANSAS CITY MONARCHS. O’NEIL PASSED AWAY
ON OCTOBER 6, 2006, AND WAS POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED THE
PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM BY PRESIDENT BUSH FOR HIS
TREMENDOUS CONTRIBUTIONS TO BASEBALL.

into the service I didn’t want to be
there, but I had to go. I felt sorry for
the people there. They were so poor.
One family gave me a necklace. I still
have it. They were so poor that a lot of
the servicemen would take advantage
of the women for the food. So actually,
war is hell. Not only for the fighters,
but the ones you are fighting against. I
survived the war and it didn’t hurt me
going there. I came back in 1946 and
led the league in hits.
38

this will be Tommy Henrich’s last
appearance at the plate for the New
York Yankees for the duration of the
war.” They gave me a great big hand.
And I was surprised.
I went out there and Dizzy Trout is
the pitcher and I said, “come on, let’s
go.” I’m so elated about the response,
I told myself I have to hit one to the
moon. So, the first pitch went by. I
missed the ball. The count goes down
to 3-2. The next ball comes in, another

Baseball’s greatest role in American
history is that it provided stability. It
provided continuity. It’s been with
us since 1845 and even World War
II couldn’t stop it. Forty million
people dead and from Buck’s remarks,
25 million of those were civilians
Eighty million people wounded and
remember the United States only had
a population of 100 million back then.
Now we have almost 300 million. So
it was a different world in many ways
and the United States took part in this
war and it was an incredibly impressive
achievement.
And why I am saying this is? If
there are any young people watching.
I teach kids now who only remember
the 1990’s. Vietnam is ancient history,
let alone World War II. They need to
know what happened and they need
to know what men like this did, not
only in their baseball careers, which
contributed to the stability of this
country, but in going out and fighting
the war and preserving freedom.
That’s why this is important.
AMERICAN VALOR QUARTERLY