1945 Retrospective
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THE PLAIN DEALER . SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1998 5-D OURCENTURY 1945 ATA GLANCE Feller’s pitching arm No more war intact after war Celebrants take Clevelanders knew normalcy had returned to the streets; on Aug. 24. That’s when Bob Feller traded his Navy uniform with its eight battle stars for an postwar anxieties Indians uniform and walked out to the mound at the Stadium to face the league-leading De- begin to rise troit Tigers. But could he still pitch? Forty-six thousand throats roared out the answer when By Fred McGunagle he struck out the first batter, Jimmy Outlaw. With two out, Doc Cramer tripled and Hank The announcement came from the Greenberg came to bat. It was the first Cleve- White House Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. By land appearance of the future Hall of Famer 7:45, Euclid Ave. was jammed. “Traf- since his release from the Army, and the fans fic on the street was almost at a gave him a big hand. They cheered even standstill,” The Plain Dealer re- louder when Feller struck him out. Feller went ported. “Automobiles barely moved, on to pitch a four-hitter, striking out 12. Pat and every one blasted with its horn. Seerey hit a first-inning home run and the Confetti and paper streamers came Tribe won 4-2. For the abbreviated season, swirling out of buildings.... Whistles Feller had a record of 5-2, including his sixth blew, until downtown Cleveland re- career one-hitter, but the Indians finished sembled a madhouse.” fifth, 11 games behind the Tigers. V-E Day — victory in Europe — had caused little celebrating in May; • there was a war still to be won. But The Postwar Planning Council, appointed this was V-J Day — victory over Ja- by Mayor Frank Lausche, recommended that pan. The war was over. The boys the city deal with its growing racial problem. were coming home. Members were influenced by the 1943 Detroit For the first time in four years, race riot and by Gunnar Myrdal’s 1943 book, Clevelanders went “joyriding”— in- “An American Dilemma,” which argued that cluding Garfield Heights safety the country’s treatment of black citizens no forces. “The suburb’s fire trucks and longer could be reconciled with the demo- police cars heralded the surrender cratic ideals proclaimed by wartime leaders. news by racing through the streets In Feb- with sirens screaming wildly.” ruary, But the main throng was down- Law Di- town, where vendors selling noise- rector makers were surrounded by eager Thomas buyers. “Convertibles full of cheering PLAIN DEALER FILE A. people circled the streets. Scores of Jubilant celebrants on Public Square the night it was announced Japan surrendered. Burke Kroger employees passed The Plain and Dealer building riding on top of a Council- huge truck and shouting like all get- heard the news. Many joined the cele- man out.” brators with mixed feelings: They William Public Square was impassable; knew their jobs were about to end. The war’s toll Baldau, left, and Sharpe O. streetcars were blocked by cars and More than half of the gross national About 160,000 Clevelanders served in their country’s armed Walker pedestrians. Alarmed birds circled product had been war production, forces in World War II. Nearly 4,000 of them died in action. with Cleveland the fourth-largest de- intro- wildly above the noise. Peak strength of U.S. military forces, reached in July 1945, was duced legislation to establish a Community fense city. The Navy canceled $6 bil- Bars were ordered to close as soon 12.4 million; a total of 16.4 million served at one time or an- Relations Board. lion in contracts within hours of the as the word came, but Clevelanders other. Of those, 292,000 were killed. Worldwide war deaths Councilman Leonard Franks, from the didn’t need alcohol to celebrate. war’s end. The Cleveland Ordnance were 15 million military and 38 million civilians. Broadway area, called the board “Franken- Members of a Parma Veterans of For- District ordered a 95 percent reduc- stein, a monster that will kill you. Such a eign Wars post snake-danced through tion in contracts. board,” he protested, “will make Cleveland downtown hotels. Union Terminal, Truman’s industrial reconversion preference for government jobs. Some unions had staged illegal race-conscious.” He was the lone opponent as The Plain Dealer reported, “seemed director predicted unemployment Teenage factory workers were told to walkouts even before the end of the Cleveland created the first official city agency filled with kiss-minded military would reach 5 million within three go back to school. war. In January, Illuminating Co. in the country dealing with intergroup rela- men.” One downtown building was an months and might be 8 million in The “return to normalcy” after workers struck, threatening war tions. Burke himself was chairman, with Dr. exception to the noise: “St. John 1946. Cleveland was expected to face World War I had included a wrench- plants, streetcar service and food in D.R. Sharpe, executive secretary of the Cleve- Catholic Cathedral was so crowded it 120,000 layoffs, nearly one-third of ing recession and civil disturbances. refrigerators. Mayor Thomas A. land Baptist Association, as vice president. was almost impossible to get inside.” the work force. The Ohio Bureau of Americans remembered all too well Burke appealed to Washington for Frank Baldau, director of industrial relations The celebrating continued past Unemployment Compensation an- what life had been like before war help. The Army took over the com- for National Smelting Co., was named execu- midnight, into the official V-J Day nounced it would expand its Cleve- contracts lifted the nation out of the pany and the Selective Service threat- tive director. proclaimed by President Harry S. land office. The city relief division Depression of the 1930s. Truman ened to draft the strikers. They went The board quickly tackled complaints about Truman. Truman, who had taken of- braced for a flood of applicants. faced the situation in his otherwise back after 20 hours, promising no the inability of black lawyers to rent offices fice when Franklin D. Roosevelt died Truman ordered an immediate cut joyful announcement of the war’s more strikes for the duration. Three downtown and police inattention to attacks on in April, declared the following two in the draft from 80,000 men a month end. “The emergency is as great,” he weeks before V-J Day, Republic Steel Jewish men and black youths. days national holidays. Gasoline ra- to 50,000, and said 5.5 million serv- said, “as it was on Dec. 7, 1941.” strikers briefly shut down three fur- • tioning ended. For the first time in icemen would return to civilian life — By Sept. 11, the U.S. Employment naces. four years, Clevelanders said, “Fill it and civilian jobs — by 1946. Nation- Service reported that 75,000 to 80,000 With the war over, strikes in- It was a big year in Cleveland sports. The up” and headed for the country. ally, layoffs reached 600,000 before Clevelanders had been laid off, but creased. Projectionists shut down 73 Barons had the best record in the American Most night-shift workers got a five- the week was over. The U.S. Civil 15,000 to 20,000 had returned to work movie theaters in September.AGrey- Hockey League, and in April defeated the hour head start on the two-day holi- Service Commission announced vet- or found other jobs. Working wives hound bus strike stranded commuters Hershey Bears for the Calder Cup. Tommy day, dropping their tools when they erans and war widows would be given returned to being full-time homemak- in November. Nationally, the number Burlington, Lou Trudel and coach Bun Cook ers. War plants quickly converted to of days lost to strikes rose from 8,700 were first-team All Stars, with Les Cunning- producing the automobiles, appli- in 1944 to 38,000 in 1945. ham, Danny Sprout and Dick Adolph on the ances and spare parts, for which Yet as the year ended, the city and second team. The Cleveland Buckeyes domi- there was a four-year pent-up de- nated the Negro American League with a the country were making the conver- mand. Home-building boomed. sion to a peacetime economy with 53-16 record and swept the Homestead Grays There was another pent-up de- to win the World Series. They were led by surprising ease. Veterans were re- mand: for raises by workers who had turning steadily. Clevelanders looked catcher-manager Quincy Troupe and out- been denied them by the War Man- fielder Sam Jethroe, who led the league with a forward to the scary but exciting power Board. Those who had escaped “Postwar Era.” .393 batting average. layoffs found their paychecks re- The Rams were back in action after a two- duced by an end to overtime while McGunagle is a Cleveland free- year hiatus, led by a sensational rookie quar- prices continued to creep up. lance writer. terback named Bob Waterfield. On Dec. 15, they won their first National Football League championship, 15-14, over the Washington Redskins. Waterfield threw touchdown passes to Jim Benton and Jim Gillette, but the decid- ing points came early in the game on a fluke play. Sammy Baugh, the Redskins’ quarterback, attempted a pass from his end zone and hit the goal post, which was then on the goal line. Baugh fell on the loose ball in the end zone, but it went as a two-point safety. More than 80,000 packed the Stadium in No- vember when Notre Dame and Navy played to a 6-6 tie, and a week later, Cathedral Latin de- feated St.