500 major league baseball players served in the military in World War II. Two didn't return, Gedeon and O'Neill

5/25/13, "Two Who Did Not Return," NY Times, Robert Weintraub

"More than 500 major league baseball players served in the military during World War II, including stars like Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Joe DiMaggio. But little attention has been paid to the two who died, Elmer Gedeon and Harry O’Neill, because their playing days were brief.

Gedeon, a Cleveland native, was a three-sport star at Michigan and was aiming for the Olympics in track and field. But the 1940 Summer Games, planned for Tokyo, were canceled because of the war....

O’Neill, a catcher, was the subject of a bidding war between the Senators and his hometown Philadelphia Athletics. Connie Mack and the A’s bid higher. On July 23, 1939, during a 16-3 loss to the Detroit Tigers, O’Neill replaced Philadelphia’s starting catcher, Frankie Hayes. He caught the final two innings but never got a chance to hit. 

It was O’Neill’s only game in the major leagues. He spent the next two seasons in the minors, and he enlisted in the Marines in 1942."...

Tweet Stumbleupon StumbleUpon