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Chet Ross
Date and
Place of Birth:
April 1, 1917 Buffalo, New York
Died:
February 21, 1989 Buffalo, New York
Baseball
Experience:
Major League
Position:
Outfield
Rank:
Unknown
Military Unit:
US Navy
Area
Served:
United States
Chester J “Chet” Ross was born on April 1, 1917
in Buffalo, New York.
He signed with the Boston Bees in 1937 and played for Zanesville in the Class C Middle-Atlantic
League. After struggling at the plate, he was sent to Beaver Falls
of the Class D Pennsylvania State Association where he hit .347.
Ross was with Hartford
of the Eastern League in 1938 and batted .306 with 17 home runs and
111 RBIs for Evansville of the Three-I League in 1939, earning a
late-season promotion to
Boston. The 6-foot-1 outfielder made his
major league debut on September 15 and batted .323 in 11 games.
Ross was the Bees’ starting leftfielder for 1940.
He played 149 games and batted .281 with 17 home runs and 89 RBIs,
although he led the National League with 127 strikeouts. In 1941,
following a spring training injury, Ross played just 29 games for
the Bees. Confined to a utility role he played 76 games in 1942 and
94 in 1943. He was sent to Indianapolis of the American Association at
the end of the year but refused to report and stayed with the Bees
for 54 games in 1944, batting .227
Ross entered military service with the Navy in
1945. He served at Sampson
Naval Training Center, New York,
where he regularly played baseball. Discharged at the end of April
1946, Ross immediately reported to Boston
but the club had no space for him and he was optioned to
Indianapolis.
He got off to a slow start with
Indianapolis
and was acquired by
Montreal
of the International League where he played alongside Jackie
Robinson and batted .243. Ross ended his playing days with
Milwaukee
and Baltimore
in 1947.
Chet Ross passed away on February 21, 1989 in Buffalo, New York
.
Created February 16, 2008.
Copyright © 2008 Gary Bedingfield (Baseball
in Wartime). All Rights Reserved.