My Personal Sports World During WWII

This blog is a continuation of my own psychological, historical, experiential life with the World of Sports. This period of my life is before TV and deals with radio, newspaper, movie newsreels, and my own experiences. It will not include events from the Olympic games since the 1940 and 1944 Olympics were not held - there was a war going on. 

My Personal History

In September, 1940, I started my high school life at La Salle-Peru Township High School in La Salle, Illinois. I had some hopes for a high school sports experience but there were two problems; 1) L-P, as with most high schools at the time, did not have a baseball program, and 2) L-P basketball coaches were not looking for 5’ 6” players. I played with a pretty good intramural basketball team but I was never “discovered” by the varsity coaches.

   In my junior year, I discovered a new sport. It began with my getting a paying job as a pinsetter at the Westclox bowling alleys. Before and after the factory bowlers played, we pinsetters bowled and set pins for each other. My average as a junior and senior was in the 180s and my highest score was a 241 game. 

The 1st Game Changer in my World of Sports

Hank Luisetti (Angelo Enrico Luisetti)  1916-2002

American basketball player - Stanford University Basketball

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1959)

Hank Luisetti played at Stanford University from 1935 to 1938. He changed the game of basketball with his one-handed running shot. The standard basketball shots at the time were the two-set shot and the layup. Technically, it was not the jump-shot of our times but it was an introduction to the jump-shot. He also introduced the behind-the-back pass.

He first became famous on December 30, 1936.  Stanford was the defending Pacific Coast Conference champion and was playing Long Island University, the nation’s No. 1 team, at Madison Square Garden. LIU had won 43 straight games. His 15 points led Stanford to a 45-31 upset in front of more than 17,000 fans.

A three time All-American, Luisetti was the first collegiate player to score 50 points in a game. His team won three Pacific Conference championships and popularized the fast-break offense. After his collegiate career ended, he was a member of a number of nationally known amateur teams, but he never played professionally.

Personal note Number 1

There were very few pay-to-play professional teams and athletes. It wasn’t until  1971 that a professional athlete was allowed to play in the Olympics.

Personal note Number 2

My three older brothers, especially Geno, worked on their own version of the Hank Luisetti shot that they saw in the special sports newsreel.

Some of My Favorite Athletes Who Served in World War II

George Halas

George Stanley Halas was an American football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears.  His team won 19 division titles, eight NFL championships and Super Bowl XX. He created many innovations including the T-Formation. He left coaching in 1942 to enter the Navy during World War II. He served  with the rank of captain for 39 months and was awarded the Bronze Star.

Sid Luckman

Side Luckman was a Chicago Bears quarterback. During his 12 seasons with the Bears, he led them to four NFL championships in 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946. He spent 1944 and 1945 in the U. S. Merchant Marine.  He was on one of the ships that landed on Normandy beach during D-Day, January 6, 1944. He was the first  quarterback to use the T-Formation that was introduced to professional football by Coach George Halas.

Stan Musial

Stan Musial was one of the greatest St. Louis Cardinals of all time. He played over twenty years in the Major Leagues, earning over 3,500 hits and just shy of 2,000 runs batted in. He was a three time World Series champion and played in over twenty All-Star games in three decades. He joined the U.S. Navy in early 1945.

Joe DiMaggio

Joe DiMaggio, New York Yankees, is one of the biggest names in baseball history. He is best known for his record 56 game hitting streak and a career .325 batting average. He was on  13 All-Star teams and played in nine World Series championships. Defensively, he was also one of our greatest center fielders. DiMaggio never wanted special treatment - at one point, he formally requested combat duty, but was turned down.

Patty Berg

Patty Berg started playing golf in the early 30s and is one of the founding members of the LPGA. From 1942 to 1945, she was an officer in the United States Marine Corps. During her golf career, she won sixty professional tournaments - one of the best records in golf history.

Joe Louis

Joe Louis One of the greatest boxers of all time, Joe Louis held the World Heavyweight title for over eleven years and had a professional record of 66-3. He volunteered for service in the Army just a month after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was initially a member of a segregated cavalry unit and a major force for recruiting black soldiers. 

Luke Appling

Luke Appling , nicknamed "Old Aches and Pains" was an American League shortstop who played 20 seasons for the Chicago White Sox (1930–1950). He won the American League batting title in 1936 with an average of .388 and in 1943 with an average of .328.

He served in the United States Army in World War II in 1944 and 1945. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.

Jack Dempsey

Jack Dempsey was the World Heavyweight Champion from 1919 to 1926. He was criticized for not having  served in World War One (he was 22 in 1917) but was later proven to have applied and been medically turned away. When the United States joined World War Two, Dempsey joined the U.S. Coast Guard and was involved in the invasion of Okinawa.

Ted Williams

Ted Williams was a nineteen-time All -Star, a two-time recipient of the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player Award, a six-time AL batting champion, (batting .406 in 1941) and a two-time Triple Crown winner. He finished his playing career with a .344 batting average, 521 home runs, and a 1.116 on-base plus slugging percentage, the second highest of all time. 

He served in the United States Navy and Marine Corps in World War II. He returned to the Red Sox in 1946. He was called to active duty again in the Korean War.

Bob Feller

Bob Feller enlisted in the United States Navy two days after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was discharged on Aug. 22, 1945, earning six campaign ribbons and eight battle stars. Two days later he took the mound for Cleveland once again, pitching a complete game with 12 strikeouts in a 4-2 win over the Tigers. The following year, Feller turned in his finest season, with personal bests in ERA (2.18), innings (371 1/3), strikeouts (348), complete games (36) and shutouts (10) and winning 26 games. He appeared in 11 seasons after the war.