American Valor Quarterly Issue 11 - Fall 2014 | Page 36

Gene Pell: One of the reasons I
asked, I want to bring all these other
participants in here because we are not
going to have all that much time here
today.
Bert Shepard made some history of
his own, after he came back from the
war right?
Bill Gilbert: He did, right. He was
a minor league pitcher; a left-handed
pitcher before the war. He was shot
down over Germany, taken as a
prisoner of war, and lost about half his
right leg. It was amputated to save his
life.
He came back after the war and,
unbelievable as it seems, made the
Major Leagues in 1945, on an artificial
leg. He was the only player ever to play
in the Major Leagues on an artificial
leg. Some people say Monty Stratton
did that also, but he never made it back
to the Major Leagues.
Gene Pell: How did you do it Bert?
Bert Shepard: Well, I just threw
the ball like I was supposed to and ran
whenever I had to. It was no problem
at all.
Gene Pell: What was your record
the first season?
Bert Shepard: I only pitched one
official game. That was against the
Boston Red Sox. I came in with
the bases loaded and struck out Joe
Berkowitz. For the next five innings
they only got one run and three hits so
I did pretty good.
A lot of people sent me letters to get
me in more ball games but we had four
knuckleballers and they were keeping
the Senators in the ballgame for the
rest of the season. Had I been the
manager, I wouldn’t have put myself
in. So I have no qualms about not
getting any more ballgames.
Bill Gilbert: He did get into some
games. He had to have five more
operations on his leg after the war, so
he never made it back to the majors,
but he did make it back to the minors.
He played three more years in the
36

BERT SHEPARD BECAME
THE FIRST BALLPLAYER TO
PITCH IN THE MAJORS ON AN
ARTIFICIAL LEG ON AUGUST
4, 1945. STILL A LIEUTENANT
IN THE ARMY AIR FORCES,
SHEPARD COMMUTED TO
WASHINGTON’S GRIFFITH
STADIUM FROM WALTER REED
ARMY HOSPITAL, WHERE HE
WAS RECEIVING TREATMENTS
FOR HIS WOUNDS.

minors as a pitcher, first baseman and
manager.

was it like in terms of the reception
you got from your fellow sailors?
Bob Feller: I went to boot camp in
Norfolk, Virginia in the Gene Tunney
program of physical fitness. For a
short time, I went through camp and
I applied for war college at Newport,
RI. I went up there and was studying
on the guns and of course I did a lot
of shooting for the NRA. I did a lot
of pistol shooting and shotguns and
rifles. I was very handy with guns. So I
went on anti-aircraft guns. We needed
gun crews to take supplies to Russia.
My gun crew of 24 men, we went on
board the Wyoming for a couple weeks
of training, then on the battleship
Alabama when it was commissioned
at Hampton Roads in Norfolk. It was
built in Newport News.

In one game, when the other team
was having trouble hitting him,
knowing that he had an artificial leg,
they laid down nine bunts against him
and he threw out all nine hitters. He
told me many years ago. “I wish they
had done that the whole game. I’d
have pitched a perfect game.” In one
season, believe it or not, Bert Shepard,
running on an artificial leg, stole five
bases.

We took supplies to Russia for a
year, escorted convoys to Murmansk
and Arkhangelsk. Not everybody liked
the old Navy officers, like the chief
petty officers and my answer to them
was, “Look, this is not a career for me.
I came here to fight and to win a war. I
don’t care what the hell you think.”

Gene Pell: Bob Feller, let me ask
you. You were a household name when
you went into the Navy, already. What

Gene Pell: Warren, tell us about
your experience at the Battle of the
Bulge.
AMERICAN VALOR QUARTERLY