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Yesterday - 1942-1945 - World War II Rages Yesterday - 1942-1945 - World War II Rages

Hundreds of major league players were drafted or enlisted into the military during World War II

The following words from a pamphlet issued during World War II:

Conserve Materials to win the war - Nothing Counts But Victory:

By John Miller... Edited by Albert Perry... Copyright by Consolidated Book Publishers, Inc. Chicago... Printed in the U.S.A.

'On every front troops of the United Nations are fighting the well-armed enemy with less than adequate weapons. They must be supplied. It will mean giving up much, it will mean learning to do without. But better privations than 'Too little and too late.'

Rubber, Aluminum, Cotton

Basically, to the civilian, rubber means tires. Not so to the army. The fastest modern tanks travel on rubber. Rubber seals airplane gas tanks against enemy bullets. Rubber hose fights fires in bombed cities. Signal Corps men crawl into battlefields, trailing behind them long lines of copper telephone wire sheathed with rubber. Without these wires, the generals do not know what is happening.

Submarine mines, connected to the shore by rubber-insulated cables, guard our harbors. Parachute harnesses are padded with rubber to protect the jumper against the devastating jerk when the chute opens. rubber floats pontoons, rubber live jackets protect sailors when they are victims of the treacherous torpedo.

Aluminum - and Your Lights

For every 700 cars we are not making, we are saving enough aluminum to build one fighter plane. Modern airplanes can soar to 30,000 feet because they are made of aluminum, one of the lightest known metals.

Bauxite, the ore from which aluminum is made, is procurable. But electricity is used to separate the rest of the ore. Electricity is cheap to the user. It is just as easy to let a light burn as not. Next time, remember first-rate fighter planes use up aluminum. Turn the lights off when you leave the room.

Cotton

More than half the weight of smokeless powder is made of cotton. In the last war, we used almost two and one-half million pounds of cotton in munitions. Right now there is a cotton surplus. But there is no surplus of the machines that make cotton into tent materials, gas-masks bags, guncotton. Even this common plant is vital. Cotton, too, is fighting in the front lines.

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Our list of special guys had their major league career shortened by military duty during World War II and we're proud to call them American Heroes:

* Bill Veeck Jr, Owner of Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, St Louis Browns and two minor league teams - Lost his right leg while serving in the Mariners... had 36 lifetime operations according to medical records. Purchased Indians in 1946 and two years later, led by the Boy-wonder Lou Boudreau, won the World Series - the Indians first since 1920.

* Mickey Vernon, Washington Senators First Baseman - US Mariners 1944-1945 - won the American League batting crown upon his return from the military - hitting .353 in 1946, and won the title again with .337 in 1953. Vernon led the league three times in doubles, including 51 in '46... collected 2,495 career hits, and 490 doubles. Played four decades in majors - Senators 1939-48, 1950-55; Indians 1949-50, 1958; Red Sox 1956-57; Braves 1959; Pirates 1960.

* Gene Woodling, New York Yankees Left Fielder - US Military 1944-45 - an all-around athlete, he spent almost three seasons in military service. Broke into the majors with Cleveland in 1943... from 1949 thru 1954, Woodling helped the Yankees win five straight World Series. In his long 17-year career with various teams, he posted a solid ,284 batting average, hit 257 doubles, 147 homers, had 1585hits in 5587 at bats.

* Bob Lemon, Cleveland Indians Pitcher - 1943-1945 US Navy - a seven-time 20 game winner, he rang-up a golden 207-128 lifetime record (.618 winning pct.) despite joining the Tribe at age 26 due to proudly serving in the Navy. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, he played his entire 13 years in Cleveland.

* Fred Hutchinson, Detroit Tigers Pitcher - pitched first two seasons in majors, 1939-40... spent '41 in minors... then, at age 23, after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor spent 1942-45 in Hawaii in the Coast Guard. Returning to the Motor City he was 14-11in 1946, and posted a career-best 18-10 mark in '47. Detroit Tigers Player 1939-40, 1946-53 - a 93-71 W/L record, 3.73 ERA... Manager St Louis Cardinals 1956-58; Cincinnati Reds 1961-1964; Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League 1955, 1959-1960.

* Eugene Siuda Sr., Chicago Park Ball Left Fielder - had middle finger of left hand shot off while serving in the US Army in Belgium - 1943-1945... a well-regarded, power packed slugging outfielder, Siuda might have had a shot for a professional baseball career except for injury. Born and raised in Chicago, he played on the North-West side in Chic-Town until the late '50s.

* Lou Ciola, Philadelphia Athletics Pitcher - went 1-3 W/L in 12 games in 1943 his only big-league season before entering the United States Navy at age 22... Ciola pitched for the military baseball team while stationed in Aiea, Hawaii after Pearl Harbor was attacked. Born in Norfolk, Virginia on 9/6/1922.

* Bobby Bragan, Philadelphia Phillies & Brooklyn Dodgers Shortstop & Catcher - a fine defensive shortstop his first three years with the Phillies - 1940-42.. traded to Dodgers in '43 and switched to catcher position because of injuries and military call-ups to teammates... Bragan served in Military - 1945-46 then returned to Brooklyn for two more seasons as backup catcher... Major League manager Pittsburgh 1956-57... Cleveland 1958... Milwaukee/Atlanta 1963-66... Minor Leagues Manager Fort Worth Cats and Hollywood Stars 1948-56.

* Clint Hartung, New York Giants Pitcher - born in Hondo, Texas... one of the highest rated players in minor league history, the Hondo Hurricane blew past opponents while in Hawaii for military duty after Pearl Harbor was bombed. He chalked up an astonishing 25-0 record, averaging 15 strikeouts (Ks) per game in his two years in the military, and the 6-ft, 4-inch, 210-pounder batted a hefty .567 and muscled out 30 homeruns in just 65 games. As a 25-year-old major league rookie in 1947, Hartung went 9-7. Career stats: 29-29 record, 5.02 ERA in 112 games - NY Giants 1947-1950.




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