John T "Tex" Deets was born in Bonham, Texas in 1913. He served with the US Army before signing with the Cincinnati Reds organization in 1938. Deets pitched for the Muskogee Reds of the Western Association his rookie year and was 19-15 with a 4.45 ERA.

In 1939 he pitched for the Waterloo Red Hawks of the Three-I League and was 11-13. In 1940 Cincinnati sent Deets to the Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association. Selected to pitch the season opener against New Orleans he pulled a muscle and was forced out of the game. The Barons dropped him from their roster and he picked up with the Durham Bulls of the Piedmont League where he was 9-9 with a 3.68 ERA.

On September 27, 1940, Deets re-enlisted, this time joining the Army Air Corps. He served in Europe and flew on 25 bombing missions as a B-17 Flying Fortress waist-gunner, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross with four Oak Leaf clusters. He took part in raids on the submarine pens at St Nazaire, Kiel, Bremen, Wilhelmshaven, Paris, Schweinfurt, Hamburg, Hamm and Lorient.