After an immensely successful 1945 campaign, the Bainbridge Commodores were set to wrap the season up against a major league club. “Bainbridge fans hope that (Red Sox) Manager Joe Cronin will send his freshman pitching ace, Dave Ferriss, to the hill against the Commodores,” the Newport News Daily Press reported on September 25. “Ken Raffensberger, leading Bainbridge pitcher with 19 victories against thee defeats, is expected to get his team’s assignment.
On September 23, the Red Sox concluded a lengthy homestand that stretched from September 3 against Washington and concluded on the 23rd with a doubleheader against the Yankees. The Red Sox had a six-day break before facing New York at Yankee Stadium on September 29 and 30, for their last two games of the season. During their break, Cronin arranged for an exhibition at Bainbridge.
Download and view the program in its entirety.
Scheduled for 4pm on Thursday, September 27, we were unable to unearth newspaper coverage of the game’s outcome. Perhaps that was the result of an unscheduled exhibition between the Washington Nationals and the Red Sox that occurred not only on the same day, but also at Bainbridge Naval Training Station’s Tome Field.
In the topsy-turvy 1945 season that saw the typical American League front-runners falling out of contention, the hapless Washington Nationals, borrowing a page from the 1944 St. Louis Browns playbook, were in the running for the league pennant as the season wound to a close in late September. The Nationals’ schedule concluded on September 23 with the club in second place, trailing the Detroit Tigers who still had three games remaining on the clock, including a pair against Cleveland and one in St. Louis leaving them with a chance to go to the World Series.
Instead of letting his team sit idle, Nationals manager Ossie Bluege leveraged the Navy team of major leaguers in his backyard for a tune-up exhibition on Thursday, September 27, apparently preempting the originally scheduled Red Sox contest.
Bainbridge’s Tome Field was filled with more than 8,000 sailors for the American League exhibition contest between the Red Sox and Washington. As the Daily Press anticipated, Joe Cronin led off the game with Dave Ferriss on the hill for the first two innings. Using a succession of arms, Cronin sent Pink Woods for innings three and four, Randy Heflin for five, six and seven, and Emmett O’Neill for the last two.
1945 Naval Training Center, Bainbridge Commodores Full Season Roster:
| Player | Position | Former |
|---|---|---|
| Norman Brady | C | |
| Vic Budura | P | Grand Rapids (MICH) |
| Wally Carroll | OF | San Francisco (PCL) |
| Harry Clements | 2B | Hollywood (PCL) |
| Bill Conroy | C | Red Sox |
| Bobby Coombs | P | Giants |
| Bernie Creger | SS | Johnson City (APPY) |
| Bennie Culp | C | Phillies |
| Bill Curlee | P | Rochester (IL) |
| Hugh East | P | Giants |
| Dave Engman | OIC | |
| Mayo Farrell | P/Trainer | |
| Ford Garrison | OF | Athletics |
| Luman Harris | P | Athletics |
| Avitus Bernard “Vedie” Himsl | P | St. Paul (AA) |
| Bill Krueger | 2B/3B | Seattle (PCL) |
| Joe Leedale | ||
| Ray Lucas | P/Coach/MGR | Seattle (PCL) |
| Al Lyons | P | Yankees |
| Max Marshall | OF | Reds |
| Roger McKee | P | Phillies |
| Eddie Miksis | SS | Dodgers |
| Howie Moss | 3B/OF | Baltimore (IL) |
| Bitsy Mott | IF | Corsele (GAFL) |
| Stan Musial | RF/CF/1B | Cardinals |
| Earl Naylor | OF | Rochester (IL) |
| Andy Nelson | C | Bristol (APPY) |
| Gerry O’Brien | Mgr. | |
| Babe Paul | 2B/OF | San Francisco (PCL) |
| Fred Pfennig | P | Scranton (EL) |
| Ken Raffensberger | P | Phillies |
| Frank Scalzi | SS | Elmira (EL) |
| Bob Scheffing | C | Cubs |
| George “Buddy” Simons | P | Philadelphia area semipro |
| Dick Sisler | 1B/OF | New Orleans (SOUA) |
| Stanley Spence | OF | Senators |
| Bill Sullivan | P | Kingsport (APPY) |
| Thurman Tucker | CF/LF | White Sox |
| Jake Wade | P | White Sox |
| Dick Wakefield | OF | Tigers |
| Sidney West | P | Baltimore (IL) |
| Larry Whalen | IF | Columbus (AA) |
Seeking inning opportunities for one pitcher, who was recently discharged from wartime naval service, to get his arm up to strength to utilize for the World Series, Bluege sent Walt Masterson to start the game. In his first game for Washington, Walt hurled a 4-0 complete game masterpiece against Cleveland on September 13.
This scorecard is a single sheet, printed in monochrome ink (black on the covers and red for the internals) with a bi-fold. The inside pages feature the scoring grids, team rosters with numbers as well the season’s synopsis with schedule and results. The front cover is adorned with photos of both teams with each player identified. The back cover is adorned with images of Bainbridge leadership and a breakdown of individual player statistics.
Conditionally, this scarce piece is excellent with slightly dog-eared corners and creases. Note also some paper loss and separation at the fold.
This scorecard was acquired at auction, December 2025.
Chevrons and Diamonds 