The forgotten story of the US soldiers who integrated baseball before Jackie Robinson
The best part of this story is the stadium they played in for the games in Europe was Nurenberg Stadium… one of the most iconic spots for Nazi parades where basically any video you see of Hitler overlooking a parade is taken.
The US Army turning a Nazi parade grounds into a baseball field where integrated baseball was played is the ultimate cultural victory in WWII.
Right up there with Jesse Owens dominating the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
Along with Jackie’s brother
Very cool story. What I find fascinating about the WWII period is that many of the best teams in America at the time were military clubs, such as the Great Lakes Naval Station. They even beat a few major league teams.
The final push for integration really did begin due to WW2.
The heroics of black servicemembers being discussed in the papers, plus commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis (who supported segregation) dying in 1944, started that movement, the tides were turning and the timing felt right for it. Bill Veeck had allegedly tried to buy the Phillies in 1942 with the intention of loading it with Negro League stars but the attempt was shut down, but Branch Rickey was the first to do it successfully with Robinson (Veeck’s Indians would later have the first American League black player with Larry Doby). WW2 was cited too from the new commisioner Happy Chandler who supported the Robinson signing saying that if a black man can make it fighting overseas, they can make it in baseball.
Bill Veeck had allegedly tried to buy the Phillies in 1942
SABR has an article on this and they mention they couldn’t find any reference to this in newspapers, but I found this article from an October 22, 1942 copy of The Sporting News so there’s definitely at least SOME truth to it.
Yeah, I didn’t want to say definitively because there are some sources that say this never happened, but many other sources saying it did. It’s very likely that Veeck had intentions of buying the Phillies, it’s not exactly known how far the process actually got or why it actually fell through. Veeck claimed in his memoirs that the National League took over the team and sold it to another owner just as he was about to buy it from Gerry Nugent after he told Landis of his intentions to put black players on the team, while Landis/NL president Ford Frick says it was for financial reasons (Veeck was the last person to purchase a team while not independently wealthy when he became owner of the Indians a few years later), and Veeck was known to exaggerate and was a big showman during his life so it’s hard to say what is actually the truth sometimes
Veeck definitely has a lot of exaggerations. I’m working on a video covering team movements in the 50s and using a lot of “Veeck as in Wreck” as a source, but I’m finding some inconsistencies with what he says in the book and what is in the newspapers at the time. He also completely fabricated a Larry Doby story for the movie The Kid from Cleveland.
Yeah, even pulling up his Wiki page it mentions a story about how he would use a movable screen when he was with the then-minor league Milwaukee Brewers to make it more difficult for opposing left-handed hitters but SABR claims at best it is greatly exaggerated.
I’ve not read Veeck as in Wreck but I’ve considered picking it up sometime, but what I’ve learned about him is that you do need to corroborate with other sources many of the stories he tells in there, that there’s many exaggerations involved
Yeah, this definitely did not check out. When he owned the Indians they did install a temporary fence called the “Veeck Fence” and some sources say they would move the fence in and out depending on the opponent, but all newspaper sources say the fence was stationary for the season.
I will say that all of his stories do usually have SOMETHING rooted in truth but he’s prone to exaggerate and mix up the timelines.
Him getting forced out of the league in 1954 by the other owners, especially Del Webb, fully checks out though.
This is cool. Looks like there were a few fellas that integrated the game before Jackie Robinson. like Moses Walker. This guy is dope as hell, playing integrated ball and whoopin ass infront of Adolph. That rules.
The baseball history podcast, Rounders, did a great episode about this.
But if you dare mention it, you’ll get labeled as “racist” for “not respecting Jackie Robinson”.
That’s an interesting story you’ve made up.
okay buddy