Baseball in Wartime - Service Games

Service Games in the Pacific

1944 1945

Army-Navy World Series
Hawaii September 22 to October 15, 1944
Navy win series

Navy Sinks Army Twice in Service World Series

Trucks Hurls Four-Hit Win in Opener; Gets Grand-Slam Homer

HONOLULU - The Navy took a two-game lead over the Army in the Pacific servicemen’s world’s series, beign played in Hawaii, the Bluejackets winning the first, 5 to 0, September 22, behind the four-hit pitching of Virgil Trucks, former Detroit star, and taking the second, 8 to 2, the next day, as Joe Grace, ex-St Louis Browns outfielder, featured with a grand-slam homer in the ninth inning.

Played exclusively for servicemen, 20,000 of them crowded into Furlong Stadium for each contest. Lt Tom Winsett, formerly of the Senators and Dodgers, managed the Army team, composed of Seventh AAF players, who had just captured the Hawaii Senior League championship. Lt Bill Dickey, former New York Yankee catcher, had charge of the Navy team, assembled from the islands and the mainland.

The series is for the best four out of seven, but all seven games will be played, even if the championship is decided early, to permit as many servicemen as possible to see the collection of major league stars in action.

Beazley Wild, Ineffective

An early lead was built by the Navy off the delivery of Johnny Beazley, ex-St Louis Cardinal hurler, in the opening game. Beazley handed out seven walks and nine of the Navy’s ten hits in seven innings before being relieved by Don Schmidt, a semi-pro hurler, who stopped the attack. Phil Rizzuto, erstwhile Yankee shortstop, led the offensive, with three blows in three times at bat.

Trucks was in fine form, for in addition to scattering four safeties, he struck out five, including Joe Gordon, ex-Yankee second baseman, for the final out of the game. Gordon, however, turned the fielding gem of the day, starting a triple play in the eighth inning, when, playing shortstop, he pulled down a line drive, stepped on second and threw to first base for a triple killing. Trucks also made two hits, one driving in a run.

Tight pitching by Johnny Vander Meer, ex-Cincinnati southpaw star, who gave up only seven hits, limited the Army to two runs in the second game in a duel with Al Lien, formerly of the San Francisco Pacific Coast League Seals, who yielded only three tallies until the ninth. Each team scored once in the first frame and in the fifth and the Navy counted another in the eighth. The Sailors, who made 13 hits, however, went to town in the ninth, counting five tallies, four on a home run by Grace.

Score of first game at Furlong Field, September 22:

Navy	5
Army	0

Score of second game at Hickam Field, September 23:

Navy	8
Army	2

Navy Guns Blast Army Four Straight to Romp in Pacific World’s Series

Sears’ 12-Inning Homer Produces Victory in Third Game; Beazley Socked for Soldiers’ Two Losses

HONOLULU – Winning the first four games, the navy captured the mythical championship of the armed forces from the Army in the Pacific World’s Series, chiefly through superior pitching. Although the Bluejackets won the title by the sweep, the three other contests in the series were played for the benefit of men in other sections of this area.

A home run by Ken Sears in the first half of the twelfth inning at Fort Schofield, Oahu, clinched the third contest, 4 to 3, for the Navy, and the Bluejackets made it four straight at Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, 10 to 5.

Until Sears came through in the third game, September 25, the contest, played before 14,000, was featured by the brilliant hurling of Don Schmidt, former Seton Hall college ace, who limited the Navy to six scattered hits and struck out nine, despite the star-studded line-up opposing him. Tom Ferrick, ex-Cleveland Indian, pitched ten innings for the Navy, and Hugh Casey, former Brooklyn Dodger, finished, to receive credit for the victory.

Judnich Connects for Circuit

Johnny Mize, formerly of the St Louis Cardinals, singled in Barney McCosky, ex-Detroit outfielder, and Joe Grace of the Browns to give the Navy two runs in the first inning. A home run by Walter Judnich, another Brownie, gave the Army a run in the second frame and singles by Bob Dillinger, Judnich and Mike McCormick, ex-Cincinnati Red, out the Army ahead in the third, Vince Smith, formerly of the Pittsburgh Pirates, however, singled Lucadello home with the tying run in the fourth, and there was no further scoring until the twelfth.

Score by innings of third game at Redlander Field, Schofield Barracks, September 25:

														R	H	E
Navy	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	-	4	6	1
Army	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	3	7	2

The Navy took an early lead over the Army in the fourth game, witnessed by 10,000, as it jumped on four hurlers for 11 hits. Johnny Mize, ex-Giant first baseman, poled a 360-foot homer in the first inning after Barney McCosky walked, and the Navy scored one in the third and fourth, four in the fifth and single runs in the sixth and seventh to win, 10 to 5. The Army could not get its sights set up til the sixth frame, when five runs rolled over the plate, during which rally Ferris Fain, from the San Francisco Seals, and Joe Gordon, former New York Yankee second baseman, homered, knocking out Virgil Trucks and bringing Schoolboy Rowe, last with the Phillies, to the rescue.

Beazley Takes a Thumping

Johnny Beazley, who was the victim in the first game, was hit freely by the Navy and retired in the fifth inning in favour of Ed Erautt, property of the Hollywood Pacific Coast League club, who, in turn, was succeeded b y Carl DeRose, New York Yankee farmhand, in the sixth. Hairston finished up on the mound for the Army.

Score by innings of fourth game at Kaneohe Bay NAS, September 26:

											R	H	E
Army	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	-	5	10	4
Navy	2	0	1	1	4	1	1	0	x	-	10	11	0

The Navy made it five straight, September 28, by blasting four Army pitchers for ten hits to win, 12 to 2, while Johnny Vander Meer, former Cincinnati ace, yielded only five safeties. It was the second win of the series for the former Red. A crowd of 15,000 saw the Navy clinch the title with a ten-run rally in the fourth inning, when Lien and Molberg were knocked out, Hairston finishing. Ardizoia took over mound duties for the Army in the seventh, when the Bluejackets counted two more home runs.

Score by innings of fifth game at Furlong Field, September 28:

											R	H	E
Army	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	-	2	5	2
Navy	0	0	0	10	0	0	2	0	x	-	12	10	0

Navy Captures Seven of Nine in Pacific Set

Vander Meer, Trucks Beaten by Army After Soldiers Lose Six Straight

HONOLULU – Thanks to the extension of the schedule, the Army managed to win two games out of nine in the Pacific World’s Series, after losing the first six. The series originally was to run seven games, all to be played regardless of whether the title was settled before that number was completed, but the contests proved so popular with the Armed Forces in Hawaii that it was decided to schedule more of them at Maui, the Valley Isle, after leaving Oahu, where the earlier games were played.

Johnny Vander Meer, Cincinnati ace southpaw who pitched the Navy to two victories, was the victim of the Army’s attack that netted the soldiers their second win in the series. The Army broke the skein of the Navy at six straight by beating Virgil Trucks, ex-Detroit pitcher who had shut out the soldiers in the first game.

The Navy won by scores of 5 to 0, 6 to 2, 4 to 3, 10 to 5, 12 to 2 and 6 to 4 before the Army ended the string of victories. In achieving the Navy’s sixth straight triumph at Hickam Field, September 30, Tom Ferrick, former Cleveland Indian, gained his second decision in a relief role. Jack Hallett, ex-Pirate hurler, started and was relieved in the fourth inning by Lt Walt Masterson, former Washington Senator. Don Schmidt pitched for the losers and was found for 11 hits.

However, the score was tied, 4-all, until the eighth, when Sailor Ferrick aided his own cause by singling in Schoolboy Rowe, former major league pitcher, who was playing left field, and put his team in front. Phil Rizutto, ex-New York Yankee, squeezed Pee Wee Reese across the platter with another run. Joe Gordon’s round-tripper in the third scored Ferris Fain ahead of him. Jim Carlin, former Phillie, pinch hit for Masteron in the seventh, singled, took second on a passed ball and scored on Joe Grace’s single.

Score by innings of sixth game at Hickam Field, September 30:

											R	H	E
Navy	0	0	2	1	0	0	1	0	2	-	6	11	2
Army	1	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	-	4	8	1

Batteries; Hallett, Masterson (4), Ferrick (7) and Sears, Smith; D Schmidt and Gautreaux

First Victory by Army

Lt Tom Winsett finally tasted the sweetness of revenge as his khakimen outscored Lt Bill Dickey’s champions, 5 to 3, at Furlong Field, Oahu, October 1. The soldiers made five runs on the six hits allowed by Virgil Trucks. Homers by Lang in the second, Dillinger in the sixth with DeCarlo on base and Fain in the ninth, with Judnich resting on first, accounted for all Army runs. Trucks doubled home Reese in the second. Singles by DiMaggio, Brancato and Shokes, sandwiched between DiMaggio’s stolen base and Reese’s walk, tallied a brace of runs for the Tars in the third. Bill Schmidt, former Sacramento pitcher, who spelled DeRose in the third frame, was credited with the victory.

The defeat was the first one of the year for Trucks. The Detroiter had won ten tilts for the Great Lakes Blue Jackets before copping two series games. In losing, Trucks struck out nine, walked four. Big Bill allowed only two hits and no runs, walked nobody and struck out four in four innings. Reese, brilliant on the bases and in the field, led the batters with three for four.

Score by innings of seventh game at Furlong Field, October 1:

											R	H	E
Army	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	-	5	6	0
Navy	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	3	9	0

Batteries: DeRose, B Schmidt (6) and DeCarlo; Trucks and B Dickey, Smith

Hallett Yields Only Three Hits

The Navy swung back into winning stride behind the three-hit pitching of Jack Hallett, formerly of the Pittsburgh Pirates, at Maui, October 4, for the second shutout, 11 to 0. The Bluejackets mauled four Army pitchers for 14 hits in registering their seventh triumph in eight games. They fell on Al Lien and Dick Molberg for four runs in the first inning and followed with three more off Molberg in the second.

Score by innings of eighth game at Maui, October 4:

											R	H	E
Army	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	0	3	1
Navy	4	3	1	1	0	1	0	1	x	-	11	14	1

Batteries: Lien, Molberg (1), Hairston (4), Fain (7) and Leonard; Hallett and V Smith, Felderman

Errors Help Army to Another Win

Taking advantage of the breaks, the Army pulled out a 6 to 5 victory in the late innings of the ninth game at Maui, October 5. The Navy took a 4 to 0 lead by scoring two runs each in the second and third innings, which they held until the sixth inning. Wildness of Johnny Vander Meer and errors helped the Army to score two in the sixth and three in the eighth to tie.

Joe Gordon scored the winning run in the ninth from second base on a throwing error by Al Brancato, formerly of the Philadelphia Athletics, although it made only five hits against ten by the Navy.

Score by innings of ninth game at Maui, October 5:

											R	H	E
Navy	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	-	5	10	5
Army	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	1	-	6	5	4

Batteries: Vander Meer and V Smith; Ardizoia, Funk (4), Schmidt (8) and Silvera

The two teams battled 14 innings to a 6 to 6 tie at Hilo, October 6, darkness ending the tenth game of the series. All, except one of the Navy’s runs were the result of homers. Schoolboy Rowe put the Navy ahead, 6 to 5, with a home run in the first half of the twelfth frame, but the Army knotted the count in the last half, when Charley Silvera, formerly of the Kansas City American Association club, also hit for the circuit.

Score of tenth game at Hilo, October 6:

Navy	6
Army	6

Score of eleventh game at Kukuiolono Park, October 15

Navy	6
Army	5

Updated February 24, 2008