More than 5000 major and minor league baseball players
left the baseball diamond to serve in the military during World War II,
but President Roosevelt insisted that baseball still be played to boost
the country’s morale. More than 400 replacement players made their
major league debuts between 1943 and 1945, among them Sal Maglie, Andy Pafko,
Red Schoendienst and Stan Musial.
The author of this book points out that the true story of wartime baseball
rests mostly with the players whose careers were not so well remembered
or documented. He highlights nine players—Frank Mancuso, Ford Mullen,
Ed Carnett, Lee Pfund, George Hausmann, Cy Buker, Bill Lefebvre, Eddie Basinski,
and Nick Strincevich—who took the field while the major leaguers were
fighting in the war. They share their memories of being called up to play
in the majors, and their feelings about providing much needed and much wanted
entertainment to thousands of Americans during the war years.
