Baseball in the Armed Forces

[rtd_sf_eng]

Two pictures of two Engineer softball teams, the 1st Engineer Regiment or Battalion and the 3rd Engineer Regiment or Battalion.  Comments?

[Salvage Sailor]

Your bottom photo.....

 

Third Engineer Regiment, the men who built the defenses and installations for the Hawaiian Division

 

Your photo was taken in front of their barracks quad at Schofield Barracks, T.H.

 

 

[rtd_sf_eng]

Thanks for the additional information.  I like the pennant too.

[Salvage Sailor]

 

 

8 minutes ago, rtd_sf_eng said:

Thanks for the additional information.  I like the pennant too.

 

...and here's their patches and insignia too

 

 

[rtd_sf_eng]

After looking up the 1st Division, I believe the picture of the 1st Engineer team was taken at Fort Hamilton, NY, where the Division was located after WWI.

[M1Garandy]

My paternal grandfather is in this picture. My presumption is that this is a baseball team at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD between early 1942-early 1945 period.

 

The only units I can find listed in his papers is the 3069th Ord Sv Co as listed on his discharge as well as Company C of the 4th O.R.T.C. at Aberdeen Proving Ground which is listed on another form.

 

I can't find anything online about the 3069th Ord Sv Co and I'm not entirely sure what the 4th O.R.T.C. was either.

 

I'd love to find a clean copy of this picture that wasn't damaged as well.

[67Rally]

On 12/2/2020 at 4:07 PM, rtd_sf_eng said:

Two pictures of two Engineer softball teams, the 1st Engineer Regiment or Battalion and the 3rd Engineer Regiment or Battalion.  Comments?

 

 

 

 

 

On 12/2/2020 at 5:27 PM, Salvage Sailor said:

Your bottom photo.....

 

Third Engineer Regiment, the men who built the defenses and installations for the Hawaiian Division

 

Your photo was taken in front of their barracks quad at Schofield Barracks, T.H.

 

 

 

 

These are fantastic photos and excellent service team baseball history! While I have an extensive collection of type-1 service baseball photos replete with professional ballplayers serving in the armed forces, the team photos of ordinary joes are pure gold, in my opinion. 

 

11 hours ago, M1Garandy said:

My paternal grandfather is in this picture. My presumption is that this is a baseball team at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD between early 1942-early 1945 period.

 

The only units I can find listed in his papers is the 3069th Ord Sv Co as listed on his discharge as well as Company C of the 4th O.R.T.C. at Aberdeen Proving Ground which is listed on another form.

 

I can't find anything online about the 3069th Ord Sv Co and I'm not entirely sure what the 4th O.R.T.C. was either.

 

I'd love to find a clean copy of this picture that wasn't damaged as well.

 

Aside from the unit history being captured, I love that the uniforms are documented showing the embellishment and ornamentation each branch employed. The ordnance and engineer insignias on these examples are incredible! I should start adding more of my photos to this thread but I have been hesitant to do so to not overwhelm with my content.

One of my more recent acquisitions is this 4th Fighter Group - 8th AF - "P51s" team shot beneath the Eiffel Tower.

[mars&thunder]

Here's a WWI AEF Baseball Trophy awarded to C Company 320th Infantry (80th Division) 320th Infantry Baseball League. It's about 18 inches tall, nicely engraved with details/roster. It's silver plate and made by the Meriden Company per mark on bottom. Weighs a ton, good condition with a few dents. I picked this up when I lived in Pittsburgh many years ago.

 

[67Rally]

1 hour ago, mars&thunder said:

Here's a WWI AEF Baseball Trophy awarded to C Company 320th Infantry (80th Division) 320th Infantry Baseball League. It's about 18 inches tall, nicely engraved with details/roster. It's silver plate and made by the Meriden Company per mark on bottom. Weighs a ton, good condition with a few dents. I picked this up when I lived in Pittsburgh many years ago.

 

 

Truly stunning trophy!! 

[67Rally]

On 8/20/2020 at 2:54 AM, General Apathy said:

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Hi 67 Rally, 

 

here's an off duty soldier holding a mitt and ball . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

regards lewis

 

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Love the picture!!

[General Apathy]

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Anyone have thoughts on this ball .  . . . . . . . . 

 

I have had this ball maybe forty years, although I was interested in collecting American sports equipment as part of my U.S. Militaria collection I have never come up with the meaning of ' WIMPY ' as written on this ball, the full text is ' WIMPY, Championship of Paris, Aug 27th 1945 ' printed below this is ' Special Services, U.S. Army '

 

thanks for any thoughts offered, or comments on the ball in general.

 

regards lewis

 

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[67Rally]

6 hours ago, General Apathy said:

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Anyone have thoughts on this ball .  . . . . . . . . 

 

I have had this ball maybe forty years, although I was interested in collecting American sports equipment as part of my U.S. Militaria collection I have never come up with the meaning of ' WIMPY ' as written on this ball, the full text is ' WIMPY, Championship of Paris, Aug 27th 1945 ' printed below this is ' Special Services, U.S. Army '

 

thanks for any thoughts offered, or comments on the ball in general.

 

regards lewis

Lewis,

The ball is legit. Wimpy is more than likely a nickname of a player on the team.  One man who had a cup of coffee with the Cubs in 1941, Wellington Hunt Quinn, affectionately nicknamed "Wimpy" in his youth as a reference to the Popeye cartoon character, was a pitcher and infielder and served in the Marines during WWII. The nickname had some popularity in the era along with "Babe" and "Lefty" and a few others. 

Regarding the softball inscriptions, you might have success in searching Newspapers.com, Sporting News or the Stars & Stripes archives for articles regarding the championship in Paris on that date. With a stroke of luck, there "could" be a reference to a Wimpy.

Regardless, it is a fantastic piece!

[268th C.A.]

Here's a couple patches in my collection. Who knows....

[General Apathy]

On 2/11/2021 at 5:51 PM, 67Rally said:

Lewis,

The ball is legit. Wimpy is more than likely a nickname of a player on the team.  One man who had a cup of coffee with the Cubs in 1941, Wellington Hunt Quinn, affectionately nicknamed "Wimpy" in his youth as a reference to the Popeye cartoon character, was a pitcher and infielder and served in the Marines during WWII. The nickname had some popularity in the era along with "Babe" and "Lefty" and a few others. 

Regarding the softball inscriptions, you might have success in searching Newspapers.com, Sporting News or the Stars & Stripes archives for articles regarding the championship in Paris on that date. With a stroke of luck, there "could" be a reference to a Wimpy.

Regardless, it is a fantastic piece!

.

Hi 67Rally,  thanks for your thoughts on the ball, I have been on-line and found reference to games around that date in Paris, I always believed the ball to be an honest piece. 

 

regards lewis.

 

.

[General Apathy]

On 12/4/2020 at 2:48 AM, M1Garandy said:

My paternal grandfather is in this picture. My presumption is that this is a baseball team at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD between early 1942-early 1945 period.

 

The only units I can find listed in his papers is the 3069th Ord Sv Co as listed on his discharge as well as Company C of the 4th O.R.T.C. at Aberdeen Proving Ground which is listed on another form.

 

I can't find anything online about the 3069th Ord Sv Co and I'm not entirely sure what the 4th O.R.T.C. was either.

 

I'd love to find a clean copy of this picture that wasn't damaged as well.

.

Hi Garandy,  very interesting photo, especially with the family connection, hope you find a better image and details of his service period with the units mentioned.

 

I was interested in the patch on the shirt, I found the attached patch shown below in a WWII footlocker grouping although slightly different to the one on these players shirts, I like the fact its still on the manufacturers card Gemsco, and mentions for sportswear use.  

 

regards lewis.

 

.

[67Rally]

1 hour ago, General Apathy said:

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Hi Garandy,  very interesting photo, especially with the family connection, hope you find a better image and details of his service period with the units mentioned.

 

I was interested in the patch on the shirt, I found the attached patch shown below in a WWII footlocker grouping although slightly different to the one on these players shirts, I like the fact its still on the manufacturers card Gemsco, and mentions for sportswear use.  

 

regards lewis.

 

.

 

Many of the domestic armed forces baseball teams had more elaborate emblems and lettering than was found on combat unit teams. As was the norm for professional and amateur teams ordering uniforms, the suppliers would source the flannels and then produce the custom lettering, emblems and numerals before delivery to the units. This sort of work was much more common and inexpensive in the 1930s-50s than it is today. Chenille and chain stitched embroidery was the norm for emblems on baseball uniforms.

[Salvage Sailor]

3 hours ago, General Apathy said:

.

Hi Garandy,  very interesting photo, especially with the family connection, hope you find a better image and details of his service period with the units mentioned.

 

I was interested in the patch on the shirt, I found the attached patch shown below in a WWII footlocker grouping although slightly different to the one on these players shirts, I like the fact its still on the manufacturers card Gemsco, and mentions for sportswear use.  

 

regards lewis.

 

.

 

 

For Lewis......  Sembler Chenille patches made by Gemsco - Reference Topic

[General Apathy]

11 hours ago, Salvage Sailor said:

 

 

For Lewis......  Sembler Chenille patches made by Gemsco - Reference Topic

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Hi Salvage,

 

Thanks an interesting link, just goes to show how diverse this collecting hobby is,  I laughed when I saw you had the same patch that I had posted.  

 

regards lewis.

 

.

[General Apathy]

14 hours ago, 67Rally said:

 

Many of the domestic armed forces baseball teams had more elaborate emblems and lettering than was found on combat unit teams. As was the norm for professional and amateur teams ordering uniforms, the suppliers would source the flannels and then produce the custom lettering, emblems and numerals before delivery to the units. This sort of work was much more common and inexpensive in the 1930s-50s than it is today. Chenille and chain stitched embroidery was the norm for emblems on baseball uniforms.

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pleased to see how well this topic you started has run and the fantastic photo's and items that have been added.

 

regards lewis.

 

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[67Rally]

5 hours ago, General Apathy said:

.

pleased to see how well this topic you started has run and the fantastic photo's and items that have been added.

 

regards lewis.

 

.

Lewis,

It has been a very enlightening topic. I have been very light in contributing to it as I can easily overwhelm the thread but I don't want this to be about my collection as it is so much more interesting to see what others possess or have seen.

[67Rally]

On 6/10/2020 at 11:40 AM, T Ambrosini said:

My one and only baseball uniform from WW2...  USN Training and Distribution Center (TADCEN).  I apologize for the poor quality of the images.  The color is washed out in the photos...

 

 One of my recent photo acquisitions was of Joe Abreu  who had a 9-game cup of coffee with the Reds in 1942. This dated photo from 1944, back-stamped with "Ship's Service Laboratories | U.S.N. TADCEN (Training and Distribution Center), Shoemaker, California. What is strange is that Abreu autographed the photo with 1948 date.

[67Rally]

I have been finding a few signed pieces as of late. It is a bit out of the norm for me to be able to land such fantastic pieces.

Two pieces as of late and they both are both from the Territory of Hawaii - one in 1944 and the other in '45 and were captured at the wooden Honolulu Stadium, affectionately known as the "Termite Palace."

This 4x5 photo is period-signed by the three principle subjects, Mike McCormick (former Cincinnati Reds), Joe DiMaggio (former Yankee) and Jerry Priddy (former Yankee and Senator). All three men signed the front in ink with the depressions cut into the surface. Note the Asian man standing behind Joe DiMaggio. This is famed Hawaiian photographer, Tai Sing Loo who captured the most iconic images of the December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. Loo is rarely seen in front of a camera.

 

On the reverse, more signatures from teammates on the 7th AAF squad. Faintly visible on the reverse beneath the autographs is the Hawaii Star Bulletin's stamp. The personnel who signed this are, top to bottom: Eddie Funk, Bob Dillinger, Jim Hill. John "Pop" Shumbres (from the Hickam Bombers), Jerry Priddy, Art Rawlinson and Carl De Rose.  

The last photo dates from the spring of 1945 and features Jerry "Swede" Jensen and Enos "Country" Slaughter, both with the Hickam Field Bombers. Both men signed the 8x10 press photo in pen.

[T Ambrosini]

I'd guess that the wartime photo was in possession of "Eddie" and either sent to Abreu for an autograph, or it was obtained in person in 1948.  When I was a kid, I'd send hockey cards to my favorite players to get autographs.  I'd always include a letter and pre-stamped return envelope.  Some returned with just a signature while others were personalized to me.  Neat photo, BTW!

 

Tom

[67Rally]

40 minutes ago, T Ambrosini said:

I'd guess that the wartime photo was in possession of "Eddie" and either sent to Abreu for an autograph, or it was obtained in person in 1948.  When I was a kid, I'd send hockey cards to my favorite players to get autographs.  I'd always include a letter and pre-stamped return envelope.  Some returned with just a signature while others were personalized to me.  Neat photo, BTW!

 

Tom

I remembered you had the TADCEN jersey. I have been capturing rosters for service teams for several years and began consolidation and normalization efforts to create one list. With 3,500+/- entries, I am getting a fairly decent picture of men who played on these teams in the ETO/PTO and domestically. I have a few names for one of Abreu's teams but not the TADCEN squad, yet. 

Your thoughts are in alignment with mine as to the signed date/stamped date discrepancy. Either way, I am glad to have it in the archive.

[kammo-man]

I was told along time ago this was an issue bat but maybe it’s just an old one I don’t know as it’s not my collection knowledge.

owen