Tagged: Marines
Negro Leagues Players Played Major Role In World War II
There are many well known stories of Major League Baseball players who served their country valiantly. From Bob Feller to Yogi Berra, dozens of baseball players who now are enshrined in Cooperstown fought in World War I, World War II and the Korean War – 64 to be exact.
Of that heroic list – Leon Day, Jackie Robinson, Buck O’Neil , Larry Doby and Monte Irvin all fought in the Second World War while Ernie Banks and Willie Mays fought in the Korean Conflict.
Below is a list of Negro Leagues players who fought for a country that had yet to begin to fight for them in World War II. From the Army Air Corp to the Army, Navy and Marines – 119 players Negro League baseball players put their lives on the line and baseball careers on hold when their country asked for their ultimate commitment.
While wartime and baseball are forever linked because of the great players who fought and the break from the sadness and death of war that it provided. Today we remember those who served their country and those who paid the ultimate price. We should forget about balls and strikes and pay homage to the bravery and courage that each of these and thousands of others displayed.
Special thanks to one of my favorite baseball websites Baseball In Wartime for the help with all of the names on this list.
Name | Position | Team | Service | Location | Years | Details |
Russell Awkard | OF | Newark Eagles | Army | ETO | 1941-1945 | Quartermaster Corps in England, France and Belgium. |
John “Red” Bailey | Toledo Crawfords | Army | USA | 1942- | Fort Bragg | |
Dan Bankhead | P | Birmingham Black Barons | Marines | 1943-1945 | ||
Richard A “Skeeter” Banks | Richmond Giants | Army | MTO | 1941-1945 | Trucking company in N Africa, Sicily and Italy | |
Lamb “Bud” Barbee | 1B | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | 1943-1945 | ||
Sam Barber | P | Cleveland Buckeyes | Army | 1942-1945 | ||
Bill Barnes | P | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Jeremiah Bennett | Philadelphia Stars | Army | Pacific | 1942-1945 | ||
Charlie Biot | OF | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | Pacific | 1942- | Captain of 93rd Division baseball team. (369th Infantry Regt) |
Joe Black | P | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | 1943- | ||
Garnett Blair | P | Homestead Grays | Army | 1942-1945 | ||
William “Bill” Blair | P | Cincinnati Clowns | Army | Youngest African-American to serve as first sergeant | ||
Jim Bolden | P | Cleveland Buckeyes | Army | 1942-1946 | ||
Lyman Bostock, Sr | 1B | Birmingham Black Barons | Army | 1942-1945 | ||
Herb Bracken | P | Cleveland Buckeyes | Navy | Pacific | 1944-1945 | Was 13-1 at Great Lakes and served in Hawaii. |
Sherwood Brewer | 2B | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | Pacific | 1943- | Discovered playing baseball in Guam. Also served in Korea. |
Barney Brown | P | Philadelphia Stars | Army | 1943 | ||
James Brown | P | Newark Eagles | Army | ETO | 1944-1945 | |
Willard “Home Run” Brown | OF | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | ETO | 1944-1945 | Played for ETO champion OISE All-Stars in 1945. |
Allen “Lefty” Bryant | P | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | 1941-1945 | Sergeant. | |
Chester Buchanan | P | Philadelphia Stars | Navy | 1944-1945 | ||
Ernest Burke | P | Baltimore Elite Giants | USMC | Pacific | ||
Matthew “Lick” Carlisle | 2B | Homestead Grays | Navy | 1945 | ||
Elmer Carter | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | ETO/MTO | 1942-1945 | In N Africa and Normandy | |
Marlin Carter | 3B | Memphis Red Sox | Coast Guard | Pacific | 1943-1945 | Saw Hiroshima and Nagasaki. |
James “Bus” Clarkson | SS | Philadelphia Stars | Army | Pacific | 1943-1945 | Camp Clarkson, CA and New Caledonia with field artillery unit |
Jim Cohen | P | Indianapolis Clowns | Army | USA | 1942-1946 | Camp Lee, Virginia. |
Jim Colzie | P | Indianapolis Clowns | USAAF | USA | 1943-1945 | Orlando AAB, Florida |
Bill Cooper | C | Philadelphia Stars | Army | 1943-1945 | ||
Jimmie Crutchfield | OF | Chicago American Giants | Army | 1943-1945 | ||
Ross “Satchel” Davis | P | Cleveland Buckeyes | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Spencer Davis | OF | New York Black Yankees | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Leon Day | P | Newark Eagles | Army | ETO | 1944-1945 | At Utah Beach on D-Day with 818th Amphibian Battalion. Played for ETO champion OISE All-Stars in 1945. |
Larry Doby | SS | Newark Eagles | Navy | 1944-1945 | Was at Ulithi. | |
Mahlon Duckett | INF | Philadelphia Stars | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Frank Duncan, Jr | C/MGR | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | ETO | 1942-1943 | Drafted in 1942/43 aged 42. Sergeant with 371st Infantry, 92nd Division. |
Frank Duncan III | P | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | 1942-1943 | ||
Jake Dunn | SS | Philadelphia Stars | Army | 1942-1945 | One of the first Negro Leaguers to enter military service. | |
Howard Easterling | 3B | Homestead Grays | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Jim Elam | P | Newark Eagles | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Wilmer “Red” Fields | P | Homestead Grays | Army | 1943-1946 | ||
Joe Fillmore | P | Philadelphia Stars | Army | 1943-1946 | ||
Jake Flowers | IF | Army | ETO | 1944 | Corporal | |
Jonas Gaines | P | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | USA | 1943-1945 | Fort Lewis |
Jerry Gibson | OF-P | Homestead Grays | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Bill Greason | P | Birmingham Black Barons | USMC | |||
James “Pea” Greene | C | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | MTO | 1943-1945 | 92nd Division, anti-tank company. In North Africa and Italy. |
Bob Griffith | P | New York Black Yankees | Army | ETO | 1944-1945 | Corporal |
Paul Hardy | C | Birmingham Black Barons | Army | 1943-1945 | ||
Chuck Harmon | SS | US Navy | USA | Great Lakes NTS | ||
David “Bill” Harvey | P | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Johnny Hayes | C | New York Black Yankees | Army | ETO | 1944-1945 | |
Curtis Henderson | SS | New York Black Yankees | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Leo “Preacher” Henry | P | Indianapolis Clowns | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Billy Horne | 2B | Cleveland Buckeyes | Army | 1945 | ||
Sammy T Hughes | 2B | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | Pacific | 1943-1946 | 196th Support Battalion during invasion of Guam. |
Monte Irvin | OF | Newark Eagles | Army | ETO | 1943-1945 | GS Engineers 1313th Battalion |
Clarence “Pint” Israel | INF | Homestead Grays | Army | 1943-1945 | ||
Willie Jefferson | P | Cleveland Buckeyes | Army | 1942-1943 | ||
Byron Johnson | SS | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | ETO | Quartermaster Corps. Landed in Normandy June 11, 1944. | |
Clifford “Connie” Johnson | P | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | 1943-1945 | ||
Josh Johnson | C | New York Black Yankees | Army | ETO | 1942-1945 | 2nd Lieutenant. Anti-aircraft unit. Red Ball Express convoy system. |
Ralph Johnson | P | Philadelphia Stars | Army | 1942-1944 | ||
Larry Kimbrough | P | Philadelphia Stars | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Rufus Lewis | P | Newark Eagles | USAAF | 1943-1954 | ||
Max Manning | P | Newark Eagles | USAAF | ETO | 1942-1945 | 316th Air Squadron Quartermaster Corps. Red Ball Express |
Tom Martin | USAAF | USA | Salt Lake City | |||
Nath McClinic | OF | Cleveland Buckeyes | Army | |||
Clint “Butch” McCord | 1B | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Walter McCoy | P | Chicago American Giants | Army | USA | 1943-1944 | |
John “Mule” Miles | 3B/OF | Chicago American Giants | USAAF | USA | 1942-1945 | Trained as aircraft mechanic |
James “Red” Moore | 1B | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | ETO | 1941-1945 | Served combat engineer battalion of Third Army |
John “Buck” O’Neil | 1B | Kansas City Monarchs | Navy | Pacific | 1943-1945 | Construction Battalion. |
Tom Parker | P | New York Cubans | Army | 1944 | ||
Charlie Parks | C | Newark Eagles | Army | ETO | 1943-1945 | |
Andrew “Pat” Patterson | 3B | Philadelphia Stars | Army | 1942-1945 | ||
Bill Perkins | C | Philadelphia Stars | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Leornard “Len” Pigg | C | Indianapolis Clowns | Army | Pacific | 1940-1945 | Quartermaster Corps at Ft Still (OK). Nine months in Philippines. |
Nat Pollard | P | Birmingham Black Barons | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Dave Pope | OF | Army | USA | 1943-1946 | Camp Lee, Virginia | |
Henry “Hank” Presswood | SS/3B | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | 1945-1947 | ||
Bill Randall | OF | Homestead Grays | Navy | USA | 1943-1946 | Great Lakes |
Ulysses Redd | SS | Birmingham Black Barons | Army | ETO | ||
Earl Richardson | SS | Newark Eagles | Navy | 1944-1945 | ||
John “Hoss” Ritchey | C | Chicago American Giants | Army | ETO/Pacific | 1943-1945 | Combat Engineer in Europe. Also seven months in Pacific. |
Henry Frazier Robinson | C | Baltimore Elite Giants | Navy | 1943-1945 | ||
Jackie Robinson | SS | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | USA | 1942-1944 | 761st Tank Destroyer Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas. |
Robert Romby | P | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | 1943-1945 | ||
Leon Ruffin | C | Newark Eagles | Navy | 1943-1945 | ||
Frank Russell | INF | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | 1945 | ||
Joe Scott | 1B | Birmingham Black Barons | Army | ETO | 1941-1945 | Staff Sergeant. 350th Field Artillery, 46th Brigade. |
Dickie Seay | 2B-SS | New York Black Yankees | Army | USA | 1943-1945 | Dow Field |
Robert Sharpe | P | Memphis Red Sox | Army | 1945-1946 | ||
Hubert “Bert” Simmons | P/OF | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | 1943-1945 | ||
Herb Simpson | 1B/OF | Homestead Grays | USAAF | ETO | 1943-1945 | 2057th Quartermaster Corps, Eighth Air Force. |
Gene Smith | P | New York Black Yankees | Army | 1943-1945 | ||
John Ford Smith | P | Kansas City Monarchs | USAAF | 1942-1945 | Lieutenant. | |
Raymond Smith | P | Philadelphia Stars | Army | 1943-1945 | ||
T R “Ted” Strong | OF | Kansas City Monarchs | Navy | 1943-1945 | ||
Lonnie Summers | C | Chicago American Giants | Army | ETO | 1942-1945 | 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion. |
Alfred “Slick” Surratt | OF | Detroit Stars | Army | Pacific | Served at New Guinea and the Philippines. | |
Reece “Goose” Tatum | USAAF | |||||
Johnny “Schoolboy” Taylor | P | New York Cubans | Army | 1942-1945 | ||
Olan “Jelly” Taylor | 1B | Memphis Red Sox | Army | 1942-1945 | One of the first Negro Leaguers inducted after Pearl Harbor. | |
Henry “Hank” Thompson | 2B | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | ETO | 1944-1945 | 1695th Combat Engineers. At Battle of the Bulge. |
Robert “Bob” Thurman | OF | Homestead Grays | Army | Pacific | 1942-1945 | Discovered playing baseball in New Guinea and Philippines. |
Ted Toles | P | Pittsburgh Crawfords | Army | |||
Johnny Washington | 1B | Baltimore Elite Giants | Army | 1942-1945 | ||
Andy “Big Six” Watts | 3B | Cleveland Buckeyes | Navy | Pacific | 1944-1945 | With 1944 Great Lakes baseball champions. Also at Guam. |
Roy Welmaker | P | Homestead Grays | Army | 1942-1944 | ||
David “Speed” Whatley | OF | Homestead Grays | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Frank Williams | OF | Homestead Grays | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Jesse Williams | SS | Kansas City Monarchs | Army | 1943-1945 | ||
Wilmore Williams | OF | Newark Eagles | Navy | 1944-1945 | ||
Al “Apples” Wilmore | P | Philadelphia Stars | Army | Pacific | 1943-1946 | 595th Field Artillery Battalion, 93rd Division. |
Emmett Wilson | OF | New York Black Yankees | Army | 1944-1945 | ||
Fred Wilson | OF | Indianapolis Clowns | Army | USA | 1944 | Fort Benning, Georgia. |
Johnny Wright | P | Homestead Grays | Navy | USA | 1944-1945 | Great Lakes baseball team |
James Zapp | OF | Baltimore Elite Giants | Navy | Pacific | 1942-1945 | Discovered on Hawaii teams that won 1943 and 1944 championships. |
Dave Barr (@daveabarr)