* For the boys, part 2: An overview of service in World War II

Gary Bedingfield, a 46-year-old British citizen, hosts the excellent baseballinwartime.com, a site devoted to ballplayers who served during WW II. His new book, Baseball’s Dead of World War II: A Roster of Professional Players Who Died in Service, has recently been published by McFarland.

In an e-mail interview, Bedingfield describes how he came to his project and why it’s so important to him.

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Bookshelf: Why did you create the Baseball in Wartime site?

Bedingfield: I launched website in 2000, around the same time my first book, Baseball in World War II Europe was being published. Its original purpose was as a platform to promote the book and also to share much of the information I had gathered on WWII baseball that didn’t make it into the book.

At that time it was a 20-page site. We are now looking in the region of 1,000 pages, a monthly e-newsletter and daily updated blog. Its purpose is to remember and honor every ballplayer who served with the military during World War II. The sacrifices they made should never be forgotten and it is my aim to share their stories with as wide an audience as possible.

Bookshelf: How do you go about doing your research?

Bedingfield: It’s not an easy process and one that has certainly changed over the years but one that I love . . . it really brings out the detective in me.

Back in the 1990s, when I conducted a bulk of my research, I used snail mail to send letters out to old ballplayers. If the players had passed away and they’d lived in small towns, I would send letters to the mayor or the local newspaper looking for information. I had a great deal of success that way.

In more recent years the Internet has provided far greater access to the information I’m looking for. I can delve into military records, newspaper articles and minor league baseball stats all from the comfort of my home in Scotland. I’m pretty good at tracking down surviving family members these days and will communicate by email or interview over the phone to gather the information I need.

Bookshelf: How many ballplayers served in WW II? Do you have a major league/minor league breakdown?

Figures vary on this according to which source you read. A good guideline, however, is that around 500 major league players and 4,000 minor leaguers swapped their flannels for military fatigues to serve their country. Those figures, of course, do not include players who served in the military during World War II and started their professional baseball careers after the war. For major league baseball I can add at least another 800 players. I couldn’t even take a guess at how many more minor leaguers you’d need to add.

Bookshelf: How many were killed and how many wounded?

Bedingfield: Two players with major league experience were killed during the war. Elmer Gedeon, who played five games with the Washington Senators in 1939, was killed when the twin-engine bomber he was piloting was shot down over France on April 20, 1944. Harry O’Neill, a catcher with the Philadelphia Athletics who made one appearance for Connie Mack’s club in 1939, was killed at Iwo Jima in the Pacific on March 6, 1945.

A staggering 127 minor league players made the ultimate sacrifice during the war. Some players, like pitcher Joe Pinder and shortstop Ed Schohl, had enjoyed long careers in the minor leagues; others like second baseman Chuck Bowers and pitcher Elmer Wachtler, were starting their steady climb through the lower leagues; while some like catcher Harlan Larsen and pitcher Jim Trimble, had signed contracts but had not yet thrown a ball in a professional game.

As for the number of wounded I’m afraid that figure is unknown.

Bookshelf: Aside from Bert Shepard and Lou Brissie, what other “big names” overcame serious injury to play in organized ball?

Bedingfield: To be honest, most “big names” did not see action on the front lines. The bulk of the war’s well-known players were in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands playing morale boosting ball games to entertain their fellow servicemen. Cecil Travis (right) of the Washington Senators was one of the exceptions to that rule. He was in Europe with the infantry and suffered severe frost bite. Although he returned to the game after the war he was much slower on his feet and was out of the game by 1947. Travis probably would be in the Hall of Fame had the war not interrupted his career.

Johnny Grodzicki of the Cardinals (left) overcame serious injuries to briefly pitch after the war. He was hit by shrapnel fragments while with the paratroopers in Europe. The sciatic nerve of his right leg was damaged and it was feared he would never walk again but with the aid of a steel brace he made it back to the Cardinals.

Morrie Martin, who enjoyed 10 post war seasons in the major leagues, suffered a bullet wound to the thigh while serving in Europe with the infantry. He nearly lost a leg after gangrene set in. It took more than 150 shots of penicillin to spare him from an amputation.

Dick Whitman, who spent six seasons in the majors after the war with the Dodgers and Phillies, had a piece of shrapnel pierce his back, come out through his shoulder and graze his head.

It should also be remembered that Phil Marchildon, the Canadian pitcher who was with the Athletics, was shot down over Europe and survived the freezing waters of Kiel Bay and near starvation in a prisoner-of-war camp to pitch five post-war seasons in the majors and win 19 games in 1947.

Bookshelf: As a subject of Her Royal Majesty, how did you come to your love of America’s national pastime?

Bedingfield: I began playing baseball as a youngster and played more than 20 years in competitive leagues. I got to represent my country on numerous occasions and travel the world as a ballplayer. The game has been good to me and no other sport comes close.