American Valor Quarterly Issue 11 - Fall 2014 | Page 10

those additional numbers have never
expressed any sense of bitterness or
resentment. Feller, (Enos) Slaughter
and Williams are typical. Appearing
on “Major League Baseball Magazine,”
they spoke unselfishly about the time
they lost during World War II.

MADE FAMOUS BY THE MOVIE, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, THE ALLAMERICAN GIRLS BASEBALL LEAGUE WAS CREATED BY SEVERAL
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL EXECUTIVES TO KEEP BASEBALL IN THE
PUBLIC EYE WHILE THE MAJORITY OF ABLE-BODIED MEN WERE AWAY
IN MILITARY SERVICE. HUNDREDS OF WOMEN WOULD PLAY IN THE
LEAGUE DURING ITS 12 SEASONS IN EXISTENCE FROM 1943-1954.

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Feller said “I’m very proud of my
war record, just like my baseball record.
I would never have been able to face
anybody and talk about my baseball
record if I hadn’t spent time in the
service.”
James C. Roberts is president of the
American Veterans Center & World War II
Veterans Committee and author of Hardball
on the Hill: Baseball Stories from Our
Nation’s Capital.
AVQ

AMERICAN VALOR QUARTERLY