Gary Bedingfield’s Baseball Volume 5 Issue 30 April 2011 in Wartime Baseball Special Issue www.baseballinwartime.com [email protected] www.baseballinwartime.com in Wartime baseballinwartime.blogspot.com Professional Baseball Players Who Died in World War II t the beginning The Additional 14 Players Who Made the of January 2010 my book Ultimate Sacrifice in World War II “Baseball’s ADead of World War II” was published by JERRY M. ANGELICH McFarland. It was the first ever detailed account of former CLARENCE W. CLAYTON professional baseball players who lost their LESTER O. CLOTIAUX lives while serving with the armed forces during WWII. The book detailed EUGENE L. DELLINGER, JR. the lives of 127 men whose ballplaying careers were halted by JOHN H. FESSLER military service and whose lives were ended in tragic circumstances, TROY L. FURR often thousands of miles from home. At the time of publication I knew the list wasn’t complete. The EUGENE J. GABRYCH majority of the names included in the book I had unearthed myself during my own research; there were no official records to go by. ROBERT J. GRUSS Consequently, since the publication of “Baseball’s Dead of World War II” I have continued to conduct research on this ROBERT F. NIEMAN subject and have now uncovered an additional 14 names, bringing the total number of former ballplayers who died in military service in WWII to a staggering 141. LUSTER PRUETT While I have included these additional players on the Baseball in Wartime website and also the Baseball in Wartime blog, I JAMES G. ROBERTSON felt it was time to include them together in a single publication. Hence, this special edition of the Baseball in Wartime newsletter. HERMAN P. RUSH On the following pages you will find the biographies of the 14 players who didn’t make it into “Baseball Dead of World War JAMES E. STEWART II” back in January 2010. I hope you’ll take a few moments to read through them and then, perhaps, give them a moment of silence as a way of saying thank you for the sacrifice they made. Gary Bedingfield—Glasgow, Scotland Founder and editor of Baseball in Wartime [email protected] Baseball’s Dead of World War II A Roster of Professional Players Who Died in Service by Gary Bedingfield Now Available! Order your copy from amazon.com. Barnes and Noble, McFarland Volume 5 Issue 30 Page 2 Jerry Angelich Jerry M. Angelich Provo to the league championships, in 1940 but was unable to put up the which they clinched over Pinney numbers he achieved in previous years. Date and Place of Birth: 1916 Beverage for their first title since 1932. A second tour of duty came in 1942 Wilmington, California before playing his last professional Date and Place of Death: December 7, Angelich entered military service with the season in 1944. Sawamura ended his 1941 Hickam Field, Honolulu, Hawaii Army Air Force on August 19, 1941. He career with a 62-22 record and 1.71 Baseball Experience: Minor League was stationed at Hickam Field in Hawaii ERA. Serving with the Imperial Japanese Position: Pitcher with Headquarters Squadron, 17th Navy, he was killed near the Ryukyu Rank: Private Airbase Group. Islands when his ship was torpedoed on Military Unit: Headquarters Squadron, December 2, 1944. 17th Airbase Group, US Army Air Corps On December 7, 1941, during the Area Served: Pacific Theater of Japanese surprise attack on Hawaii, their Eiji Sawamura was inducted into the Operations planes bombed and strafed Hickam to Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame in eliminate air opposition and prevent U.S. 1959. Since 1947, the Sawamura Award Jerry M. Angelich was born in planes from following them back to their (Japan's equivalent to MLB's Cy Young), Wilmington, a district of Los Angeles, aircraft carriers. Hickam suffered has been given to the best pitchers in California, in 1916, and was a star extensive damage and aircraft losses, professional Japanese baseball. athlete at local Banning High School. A with 189 people killed and 303 slow ball pitcher, he had trials with the wounded. Angelich’s Pro Experience Sacramento Senators of the Class AA Pacific Coast League in 1935 and was Private Angelich was attempting to 1935—Trials with Sacramento Solons of with the team for pre-season exhibition operate a machine gun in a wrecked Pacific Coast League. games in early March. airplane when he was killed by strafing 1936—Trials with same team. Japanese fighter planes. He is buried at On March 18, Angelich was selected by the Honolulu Memorial in Hawaii. manager Kettle Wirts to start for the Senators against a touring Japanese Sawamura, the Japanese pitcher professional all-star team at Moreing Angelich hurled against in 1935, went Field. Before a crowd of 4,200, and with 15-3 in 1936 for the Tokyo Giants in the Wirts behind the plate, Angelich was first professional season. On September locked in a pitching duel with 18-year-old 25, 1936, he pitched the first no-hitter in Japanese ace Eiji Sawamura. In Japan, Japanese professional baseball history. the previous November, Sawamura had He had an incredible 33-10 record and faced a team of visiting major league all- 1.38 ERA in 1937, but was drafted for stars including Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, military service in January 1938. Aged Lou Gehrig and Charlie Gehringer. 23, he returned to professional baseball Entering the game in the fourth inning, the high school pitcher struck out nine batters and held the Americans to a single run over five innings; a home run by Gehrig in the seventh that left Sawamura with the loss. However, he was immortalized by Japanese fans for striking out Gehringer, Ruth, Gehrig, and Foxx in succession. Angelich, who hurled eight innings and was relieved by Bill Hartwig in the ninth, was beaten by Sawamura, 2-1. The Senators managed just five hits off the Japanese youngster. Angelich signed a contract with Sacramento on April 5, but was released on April 20. He had a further trial with Sacramento in 1936, and later played for the Provo Timps of the Utah Industrial League – a thriving semi-pro circuit with six teams fielding formidable line-ups that competed throughout state. On September 3, 1939, he pitched a 3- 1, five-hitter over Magna-Garfield to take Hickam Field burns during the Japanese attack, December 7, 1941 Volume 5 Issue 30 Page 3 Clarence Clayton and Les Clotiaux Clarence W. Clayton Lester O. Clotiaux officiating. He was buried at Block Cemetery in Nederland and the burial Date and Place of Birth: 1926 Date and Place of Birth: August 16, 1921 included a military escort from the Lake Middletown, Ohio Nederland, Texas Charles air base and US Marine Corps Date and Place of Death: May 1, 1945 Date and Place of Death: August 9, 1945 pallbearers from the Marine base at Czechoslovakia Smiley, Texas Mid-County Airport in Nederland. Baseball Experience: Minor League Baseball Experience: Minor League Position: Second Base Position: Catcher Clotiaux’s Pro Experience Rank: Private First Class Rank: Corporal Military Unit: 358th Infantry Regiment, Military Unit: USAAF 1941—Trials with Port Arthur Tarpons of 90th Infantry Division US Army Area Served: United States the Class D Evangeline League. Area Served: European Theater of Operations Lester O. "Les" Clotiaux was born in Nederland, Texas on August 16, 1921. Clarence W. Clayton Clotiaux graduated from Nederland High was born in 1926 in School in 1937 and went to work for the Middletown, Ohio. The Gulf Refinery in Port Arthur where he son of Mr. and Mrs. played baseball with the Barrel House George Clayton of 718 Bees in the Gulf Refinery League. Fifteenth Avenue, Clayton was an In 1941, Clotiaux was among four outstanding ballplayer catchers on the spring roster of the Port at Middletown High Arthur Tarpons of the Class D Evangeline School and signed with League and was with manager Harry the Boston Red Sox Strohm's squad when they hosted the organization upon Brooklyn Dodgers in an exhibition game graduation in June at Legion Stadium on March 28 (for the 1944. record, the Dodgers walloped the Tarps 17-0). Clayton joined Boston's farm team in his home town, the Middletown Red Sox of Clotiaux was released before the season the Class D Ohio State League, who began and played for the Grammiers, a were managed by Red Barnes, an top-notch local semi-pro team, as well as outfielder with the Washington Senators continuing to play for the Barrel House in the late 1920s. Batting second in the team where he worked. line-up and playing second base Clayton appeared in 101 games and hit .246 Clotiaux entered military service on with 40 RBIs. He led the league's second August 29, 1942. He served as a basemen with a .923 fielding corporal with the Army Air Force at Foster percentage and played for the Ohio Field, Texas and was the regular catcher State League all-star team in July when on the Foster Field Falcons baseball they walloped Newark, 19-3. Clayton team. went 1-for-2 in the game. On August 9, 1945, the Falcons traveled Clayton's career was short-lived, to Childress Army Air Base in Texas for a however. He entered military service in ballgame. The Falcons won that contest October 1944 and was soon in Europe and five of the players - Clotiaux, Duard with the 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Lawson, Harold Phillips, Chester Seipp Infantry Division. and Pete Zarrilla, along with pilot Second Lieutenant Peter R. Davis (an On May 1, 1945 - just one week before experienced pilot with over 1,500 hours the end of the war in Europe - Private during the previous year) - flew back to First Class Clayton was killed in action in Foster Field in a twin-engined Beechcraft Czechoslovakia.