Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Locked On Mariners' Veteran's Day Special

Episode Date: November 12, 2020

On this Veteran's Day, D.C. does his best to salute those who have served in the armed forces by talking about those Major League Baseball Players who served in the military during wartime. While there were a plethora of players who served during World War II, others also served during World War I, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Locked On Mariners thanks those of you out there who have served your country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Locked-on Maritors, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Here's your host, D.C. Lundberg. Thank you, Joey. And to those of you listening on this Veterans Day who have served our country, I sincerely thank you for your service. I hope you enjoy this special Veterans Day edition of Locked-on Mariters, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, brought to you by Belt Bar. Please remember to download, rate, and subscribe to this program on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, or whichever podcasting app that you personally care to use. Ask your smart device to play Lockdown Mariners podcast

or any of the other great programs here on the Locked On Network. Follow us on Twitter at L-O-U-U-N-Sor-Mariners and follow me on Twitter at D-C-U-C-U-N-B-E-R-G, if you're scoring it home. On this Veterans Day, we are going to honor those Major League Baseball players who have served in the armed forces. No silliness today, I'm going to play it straight, forward. Today's episode will not necessarily be about what these gentlemen did on the ball field,

but rather what they did away from it. There were many, many players, including stars and future hall of famers who served during World War II. But there were others who served during World War I, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. We'll focus on World War II in the second half of today's program, and we'll start with World War I, where there were a few prominent Major League baseball players who did serve in the armed forces during that time. Christy Matthewsson served during World War I after his playing days were over. His final Major League Baseball game came in 1916 and he was in the Army in 1918, the year that the greatest number of ball players served during World War I.

Matthewson worked in the Army's chemical warfare service in France. Ty Cobb and George Sistler also served in this same unit. During a training exercise, Matthewson, was accidentally gassed, and he suffered lung damage as a result and contracted tuberculosis. He died in 1925 at the young age of 45. He is among the first class of Hall of Famers elected in 1936. Not only, as Matthew said, among the greatest who have ever played Major League Baseball, but he was also very highly regarded as a person as well. He was one of the few college graduates to play Major League Baseball at this time. He graduated from Buck Neville.

and he was also a professional football player for a time. He was a very thoughtful, soft-spoken, intelligent man, and he was also one of the few players to speak out against other players whom he thought were throwing games at the time. Remember, this was a huge scandal which came to a head after the 1919 season. Other prominent players to serve during World War I include Harry Heilman, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and Red Faber, not to mention,

Judd Wilson, a prominent Negro League star, who is now a member of Baseball's Hall of Fame. Alexander spit much of the 1918 season in France as an artillery officer. He suffered from partial hearing loss and also worsening seizures.

Despite this, he put in some of his best seasons after the war. World War I officially ended on November 11, 1918, 102 years ago today. Hence, why Veterans Day is November 11th. We will again talk about World War II in the second half of this

program. We're going to spend the most time talking about that conflict since baseball was the most affected by that war. We are going to jump all the way ahead to the Vietnam War. Unlike World War II, where there were a tremendous number of Major League Baseball players who either enlisted or were drafted into the armed services who did serve, this was not the case during the Vietnam War. Even though there was a huge number of Americans who were drafted into the armed services, most Major League Baseball players were granted deferments and did not have to go overseas, instead being assigned to stateside bases during the offseason. Many minor league players, however, did go overseas and saw tours in Vietnam. The most prominent of these players was probably

Gary Maddox, one of the premier defensive center fielders of his day. Ralph Kiner once said of him, quote, two-thirds of the earth is covered by water. The other third is covered by Gary Baddocks, end quote. He was nicknamed the Secretary of Defense for his outstanding play in center field. He won a World Series championship with the Phillies in 1980. He served in the Army in 1969 and 1970, and later made his Major League debut in 1972. Exposure to chemicals left his skin very, very sensitive, and he always had to wear a beard, a full beard, to protect his face.

When the Phillies acquired him in 1975, they had a policy where their players were not allowed to wear facial hair. However, the Phillies made an exception for Maddox and shortly thereafter dropped the rule altogether. Quiet and thoughtful, Maddox was very respected by his teammates, much like Christy Mathewson was, who we referenced earlier in the program. One of Maddox's teammates once said about him, he reads hardcover books.

After his playing career was over, Maddox attended Temple University in Philadelphia, a man of incredibly diverse interests. He was later CEO of an office furniture company, director of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank, and also a Phillies broadcaster for a time. In addition to all of that, he's a renowned barbecue chef and once co-hosted an annual barbecue competition sponsored by the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

The Korean War did not affect Major League Baseball very much. As a matter of fact, it barely impacted baseball as a whole at all. Not many minor leagues had to fold during this time as they had to do during World War II and World War I. And like the Vietnam War later on, while there were a number of minor league baseball players who were either drafted or enlisted in the military during the Korean War, there were not very many major league baseball players who did. There were some very notable exceptions, however, including Willie Mays, Don Neuchum, Wighty Ford, and Ted Williams. Lee Mays missed most of the 1952 season and all of 1953, while serving in the army.

Wydie Ford also served in the Army, missing the 1951 and 1952 seasons. Don Newcomb missed 1952 and 1953. Ted Williams also saw action in Korea and had previously served in World War II. We'll talk about Ted Williams in the second half of the program. One note that I couldn't really figure out to fit in anywhere else in the program, is legendary Mariners broadcaster Dave Nehouse, who got his broadcasting career, so to speak, off the ground in the late 50s while serving in the army, calling baseball and basketball games for Armed Forces Radio.

We're going to take a short pause here, ladies and gentlemen. We'll talk about baseball's World War II years in the second half of the show today. Right now I'm going to tell you about Built Bar. They are fantastic tasting protein bars that taste as close to a candy bar as a protein bar can get. They're high in protein, obviously, but they're also low in sugar, low in carbohydrates, and low in calories.

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Go figure. Don't forget about Built Boost drink powder, ladies and gentlemen, and BuiltGo Energy shots. All of this can be found at Builtbar.com, and if you use promo code locked on, all one word, you get 20% off of your next order. So what are you waiting for? Other than the end of this program. So when this show is over, go to builtbar.com. And you can put together a box of bars

consisting of the flavors you'd most like to try or your already established favorites. Builtbar.com is the place to do all of this. And don't forget that promo code, locked on, for 20% off of your next order. Have you got a question or a comment? Send it on over to Lockedon Mariners at gmail.com. And I will read it and reply to,

to it on the air in an upcoming mailbag episode. Maybe just one more until spring training commences. I'm really not sure. We'll just kind of see how it goes. The next one, I'm still waiting for Jason Hernandez, to be able to participate in that one. Hopefully the end of next week. It might go to next week.

I'm not exactly sure. But Locked-on Mariners at gmail.com, if you have any questions or comments you want to ask, questions on any subject, comments on any subject. It's family show, ladies and gentlemen, should just keep it appropriate. This Veterans Day episode of Locked on Mariners will continue.

after the following. Welcome back to Locked-on Mariners. Once again, your host, D.C. Lundberg. Thank you very much, Joey Martin. Welcome back to this Veterans Day edition of Locked-on Mariners, where we are trying to do our best to salute those veterans of our armed forces who have played Major League Baseball, and also hopefully to put a smile on the faces of those listening

who have also served in the military. When you think of baseball and the military, your mind has to go to World War II. The immediate impact this war had on baseball, was enormous. Most minor leagues ceased operations during the war years. There were many ball players who served during this conflict, many of them seeing combat. This led to a shortage of players across both major and minor league ball. One result of this was the signing and debut of the Cincinnati Reds Joe Nuxall, who premiered on June 10th, 1944, a month and a half shy of his

16th birthday. To quote Nuxall, probably two weeks prior to that, I was pitching against 7th, 8th, and 9th graders, kids 13 and 14 years old. All of a sudden I look up and there's Stan Musial, end quote. While Nuxel himself never served in the military, it certainly is a very interesting footnote to baseball's warriors. He pitched that one game in 1944 at the age of 15 and then came back to the major leagues at the age of 23 in 1952 and actually went on to have a very good major league career. The man mentioned in his quote Stan Musial did miss the 1945 season due to military service in World War II. But of course he wasn't the only one. Another Hall of Famer, Ena Slaughter, missed three seasons to World War II in the Army Air Corps. Not only that, it was his age

27, 28, and 29 seasons. His prime. While a member of the Army Air Corps, he played pickup ball on the same team as star Vic Wirtz and future Hall of Famer Joe Gordon, a power hitting second baseman. Talking about joining the Army, Slaughter was quoted as saying, I didn't think I was any different than any other young man, end quote, and even remembered his enlistment date, August 27th, 1942. In that same vein, Major Liger Gene Woodling was quoted as saying, when you're called up to protect what you have here, why you're going to do it, just like anybody else. I'm not going to say I was happy to do it, but you do it. End quote. Hank Greenberg, quote,

there was a question of Germany conquering the world and there was no choice. Everybody joined up, end quote. Warren Spahn, quote, I never wanted to be a soldier, but my country was in trouble, and everybody went in, end quote. Jerry Coleman, quote, When the war hit, your priorities go immediately into the service, and I couldn't wait to get in, end quote. Prior to his playing career, Ralph Kiner was in the Navy Air Corps,

and his job was to find Japanese submarines. Shortly after World War II began, Ted Williams was drafted into the military, and he missed the 43, 44, and 45 seasons while serving in the Marines. He was also in the Marine Reserves when Korea hit, and he missed the equivalent basically of two seasons to Korea as well. He played only six games in 1952 and 37 games at the tail end of the 1953 season. Another elite Hall of Famer, who played on Ted Williams' rival team, the New York Yankees,

Joe DiMaggio also lost three years to World War II, 1943, 44, and 45, while serving in the Army. Prior to his historic Major League Baseball career, Jackie Robinson served in the Army from 1942 to 1944 and achieved the rank of second lieutenant three years before he broke baseball's color barrier. Prior to his playing career, Yogi Berra was in the Navy and even was part of the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944,

one of the most important days in World War II. And then of course there's Bob Feller who lost three and a half seasons while serving in the Navy. He was originally assigned to a special physical fitness program and continued to play baseball and raise money for the war effort. But he wasn't satisfied with this. He wanted a larger role in actually fighting in World War II. So he enrolled in gunnery school and was then assigned to the USS Alabama in the fall of 1942. He then spent the next two plus years as a chief specialist aboard the Alabama and ran several missions in the Central Pacific Ocean.

Fellar's military career dramatically changed his outlook. Quote, baseball was still important, but it wasn't as important as it was when you're a kid before the war. It became less important to me. It's only a game. End quote. During an online chat with fans in 2005, he was asked, about the effect that the war had on his baseball career, and he answered thusly.

During a war like World War II, when we had all those men lose their lives, sports was very insignificant. I have no regrets. The only win I wanted was to win World War II. This country is what it is today because of our victory in that war, end quote. When the war was over and the players came back, they were very appreciative of what they had here in the United States. To quote Warren Spawn, when I came back I felt like, wow, what a great way to make a living. And the scared

kid that was there in 42 was now feeling pretty comfortable because I knew if I didn't do well, they weren't going to shoot me that they were going to bring a relief pitcher in, end quote. Before we go, I would like to say a few words. I personally was never in the armed forces,

which I now feel like is a shortcoming of mine. I owe a debt of gratitude that I can never repay to those of you out there who have served this country honorably who have done your part to ensure that we remain a free country. I thank you sincerely from the bottom of my heart. We will end this with one of my all-time favorite quotes. This again from Bob Feller. Anyone that says that you're playing sports is like being in a war, I've got news for them. They've never been in a war, end quote. Thank you for listening, ladies and gentlemen. Have a good

evening. This is Joey Martin speaking for Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network.