From the Dugouts to the Trenches by Jim Leeke

Author:Jim Leeke [Leeke, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HIS027090 History / Military / World War I, SPO003030 Sports & Recreation / Baseball / History
ISBN: 9780803290723
Publisher: UNP - Nebraska
Published: 2017-03-07T07:00:00+00:00

Sporting News spared the pitcher the criticism it generally directed toward the navy’s yeomen ballplayers. “He went to the Army camp ready to take his chances,” the publication wrote of Alexander. “That he should land in a favored position was inevitable and consistent with the principle that the government believes for the best interest of the military service, the principle laid down by General Wood when he said: ‘Men must be taught to play before they can fight efficiently.’”20

The 342nd’s roster included Alexander; pitcher Win Noyes of the Athletics; pitcher and utility man Clarence Mitchell of the Dodgers; pitcher Otis Lambeth of the Indians; infielder Chuck Ward of the Pirates and (briefly) the Dodgers; and several good collegiate and independent-league players. Unlike many other military ballplayers, these men belonged to a combat unit. The regiment sailed from New York at the end of June, arriving in France via England in mid-July. The baseball team, with the Cubs star on the mound, “did some touring during the summer and cleaned up everything in sight, as it naturally would do with the great Aleck on the mound.”21 By fall, however, Alexander and his teammates would be far more concerned with surviving German artillery barrages than playing any game of baseball.

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