Hardball on the Home Front

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.

SABR member Craig Allen Cleve is the Mathematics Coordinator at Columbia Explorers Academy in Chicago, Illinois. He lives in North Riverside, Illinois.

Craig Allen Cleve
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 213
Bibliographic Info: photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2004
pISBN: 978-0-7864-1897-8
eISBN: 978-0-7864-2709-3
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii
Introduction      1

1. Frank Mancuso      7
2. Ford Mullen      24
3. Ed Carnett      36
4. Lee Pfund      54
5. George Hausmann      70
6. Cy Buker      90
7. Bill Lefebvre      104
8. Eddie Basinski      119
9. Nick Strincevich      142
10. More Wartime Players      161

Appendix: Statistics      173
Notes      187
Selected Bibliography      193
Index      195