Changes In Baseball During World War II

World War II had a horrible dent on america's pastime and other sports. On the date of December 7 1941, America was brought into this horrible war, them causing a huge mix up with all sports going on at the time. Not to fear, President Roosevelt was pushing to keep most of these sports from coming to a complete hault. During World War II many athletes had to turn in their jerseys in exchange for war uniform and boots. Because of Word War II, baseball has changed in the way we play the game, The population of the game and the structures that they play in. Some changes that World War II had on baseball did not just change the game, but even the people playing it. Harry O’Neill and Elmer Gedeon, two ex-Major Leaguers, were shot during World War II. Gedeon hit 271 in 126 games for the Charlotte Hornets in 1940 but in the end died in 1944 while flying a B-26 bomber over France. It is nearly impossible to count how many young athletes whose baseball hopes and dreams were crushed by this wartime. In 1942, second baseman Billy Hebert was arguably (In my point of view) the best

Despite the fact that Major League Baseball’s playing numbers were stat wise lower during the war, the game’s popularity shot up, reflecting the country’s strong love of baseball as the true national sport of the time.That quote from President Roosevelt’s “Green Light Letter” written January 15, 1942 to the Commissioner of the MLB, Keensaw Landis, sums up Roosevelt’s role on the importance of baseball. Some may even thank him saying that he kept baseball alive till this day. 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