Post your cards of baseball players who served our country in the military
frankhardy
Posts: 8,098 ✭✭✭✭✭
People who serve our country in the military often risk their lives for the freedom that we have and enjoy each and every day. Military personnel have a special place with me. Both of my grandfathers served during WW2. My paternal grandfather served in the Navy aboard a ship as a radar man. My maternal grandfather served in the Army.
This is a thread to show our appreciation for those baseball players that served our country in the military. Post your favorite card of a player who served our country.
These can be autographed cards or non autographed cards; graded or ungraded. Just post some cards featuring these special people.
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I'll start with a 1961 Fleer Bob Feller. I sent this directly to Mr Feller a few years before he passed away. He signed this card for me as well as a 1947 Newsweek Magazine with him on the cover.
Mr Feller decided on his own to join the Navy the very next day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He missed all of 3 seasons from 1942-1944 and part of 1945. He was discharged as a Chief Petty Officer in August of 1945 when he returned to baseball.
Here is a picture cut out of a magazine that he signed for me showing him being sworn into the Navy.
Shane
Comments
Yaz Master Set
#1 Gino Cappelletti master set
#1 John Hannah master set
Also collecting Andre Tippett, Patriots Greats' RCs, Dwight Evans, 1964 Venezuelan Topps, 1974 Topps Red Sox
Pitched, left for Korea, came back to America then pitched his way to the Hall of Fame. The kid from Queens made good in the Bronx and now resides In Cooperstown forever with occasional appearances in Iowa cornfields.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
Willie Mays.
Mays, who won Rookie of the Year in 1951 for the New York Giants, reported to duty May 29, 1952. He missed the rest of the season and all of 1953. He missed more than 260 games during his military service, spending those two years playing baseball in the Army at Fort Eustis in Virginia. (USA Today).
I’d love to start a set registry for those who have served in the military in each of the major sports. Great thread!
Mathewson served in the United States Army's Chemical Warfare Service in World War I, and was accidentally exposed to chemical weapons during training. His respiratory system was weakened from the exposure, causing him to contract tuberculosis, from which he died in Saranac Lake, New York in 1925.
Bob has already been posted here by a few others but here is my favorite card of his that I own.
Concrete Charlie. Last of the sixty minute men in the NFL. Served for four years in the Air Force as a gunner during WWII.
Thanks,
Jason
Personal Collection | Willie Woodburn | Legion of Doom
Warren Spahn missed 3 full seasons at the beginning of his career. He pitched in the 1942 season for the Braves before finishing the season in the minor leagues. He then enlisted in the Army missing the 1943, 1944, and 1945 seasons. He was awarded the Purple Heart, was a combat engineer, and was awarded a battlefield commission. He passed away in 2003.
Here is a 1958 Topps Warren Spahn signed.
Shane
I didn’t know that about Mathewson.
Yaz Master Set
#1 Gino Cappelletti master set
#1 John Hannah master set
Also collecting Andre Tippett, Patriots Greats' RCs, Dwight Evans, 1964 Venezuelan Topps, 1974 Topps Red Sox
These guys all served to varying degrees...Interesting to note, because I research every player--the amount of players that saw conflict, were decorated and rose to impressive ranks is astounding. Too many to recall off the top of my head, but many football and baseball players were legitimate heroes!
"You've gotta be a man to play this game...but you'd better have a lot of little boy in you, too"--Roy Campanella
Proud Marines both!
Football but.......Bullet Bill. Army Air Corps, Pacific. Flew some supply missions at the tail end of WW 2.
So many players in and around WWII. It would not be the same in later conflicts. Imagine a star today, making bank, and war rolls around. Do you think many would volunteer? Not likely. They really don't make 'em like that anymore. The greatest generation for a reason!
I wish I would have grabbed one of those Triple Thread Navy cards. Too pricy now, but sweet cards.
Basketball...
I forgot about "The Admiral"!
Shane
Roger Staubach.
Spahn was wounded at the bridge at Remagen. There is a movie about the battle called, "a bridge to far."
I googled this topic. Two lesser known players won the medal of honor. Posthumously.
Not mentioned in the google search was Hank Bauer. Severely wounded in the pacific and spent 6 months in the hospital
1948-76 Topps FB Sets
FB & BB HOF Player sets
1948-1993 NY Yankee Team Sets
https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/pdub1819/othersets/6204
Clemente served in the military?
Yaz Master Set
#1 Gino Cappelletti master set
#1 John Hannah master set
Also collecting Andre Tippett, Patriots Greats' RCs, Dwight Evans, 1964 Venezuelan Topps, 1974 Topps Red Sox
https://www.robertoclementefoundation.com/roberto-clemente-veteran/
This guy is one of the more known subjects of Larry Fritsch's OYW sets and he eventually had a certified autograph card, which was pretty damn cool too. Aside from the Obak cards, which have a variety of parallels of both his base and autographed card, he didn't have many other cards issued.
Roy Gleason
I had no idea Roberto Clemente (Walker) was in the Marines. Wow!
Shane
Vietnam Veteran. God bless our military and veterans.
Both these guys [source article]
Pat Tillman did.
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Yes he did. Well aware of Tillman's story and my comment should not diminish what he did, but he was definitely an extreme case for recent times and the fact that he did it voluntarily is even more amazing. His demise was an even sadder story.
I will also note that Tillman was not really a household name at the time due to his playing career either. If someone with star power like a Brett Favre (who was right in the middle of a HOF career) would have done it, then that would have been a crazy huge story.
These athletes and the rest of America are deservedly called the greatest generation for a reason.
Patriotism trumps all. Today when the WNBA leaves the stadium during the national anthem and many take a knee
I just shake my head and wonder in disgust.
1948-76 Topps FB Sets
FB & BB HOF Player sets
1948-1993 NY Yankee Team Sets
I agree.
Here is one of my favorite cards that I own of Stan The Man Musial. He enlisted in the Navy in 1945 and was assigned non-combat duty. That should not diminish his willingness to serve right in the middle of the prime of his career. He missed the entire 1945 season. He had already won 1 NL MVP award and won 2 more after that. He came in 2nd 4 more times.
One of my favorite stories about the jovial Stan Musial was when someone at Spring Training asked him, "Stan, why do you always have a smile on your face?" He answered as only he could, "Well, you would smile too if you knew you were going to hit .330!" That wasn't arrogant....that was just Stan being honest!
Here is my 1949 Bowman signed.
Shane
The only player in the Majors injured in Vietnam ---
Cool two part article about Goggin....
https://sportscollectorsdigest.com/cards/the-1-million-common-of-chuck-goggin
https://sportscollectorsdigest.com/memorabilia/gogginclemente
“1974 was the only baseball card I ever appeared on,” said Goggin. “I had been under contract to Topps since I first signed back in 1963, but it took me 11 years to finally be on a card — and I loved it. Shortly after signing my first contract with the Dodgers, I received a contract in the mail from Topps. They gave you the choice of $150 or a set of golf clubs to sign. It actually wasn’t a full set of clubs, either, it was the three, five, seven, nine. I took the golf clubs. That first contract locked the player up with Topps for life, but they had to pay you again each and every time they made a card of you — if they ever made a card of you. In that case, they would again give you $150, or let you choose something out of their catalog. The items in the catalog had either one or two stars next to them. You could pick two things that had one star or one thing that had two stars. I chose a washer and dryer, which was a two-star item. It was the first washer and dryer I ever owned. I had those for many years, long after I got out of baseball. I guarantee that I got more than 20 years of use out of that washer and dryer set. It was a great baseball card and great payment."
Maddox played in the minors for the Giants in 1968, then missed the next two seasons while serving the Army during the Vietnam War. While stationed in Vietnam, he was exposed to chemicals that damaged his skin. It was painful for Maddox to shave after that, so he grew the beard that became his trademark. He played well for Class-A Fresno in 1971 and Triple-A Phoenix in early 1972 before being promoted to the Giants in April 1972. He later played for the Phillies, winning eight Gold Gloves and earning the nickname, the “Secretary of Defense.” He won a World Series with the Phillies in 1980. Maddox retired in 1986 and went on to a broadcasting career, a stint as CEO at an office furniture company, director of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank and an acclaimed barbecue chef.
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
Goggin and his ilk are why I will always be a set collector. Mantle and Mays are fascinating, larger than life figures, but I know their stories, and have for decades. The Goggins of baseball history are equally interesting and inspirational, and there are a lot more of them.
Those posts about Goggin and Maddox were very interesting. Keep em coming!
Shane