Chevrons and Diamonds

Facing the 76th Infantry Division’s “Onaways” in the Third Army Championship at Soldiers Field, Nuremberg Stadium, the 71st Infantry Division’s “Red Circlers” captured the both the title and a trip to the GI World Series.

In the best-of-five-games, the two teams with stacked rosters filled with former major and minor leaguers, thousands of GIs in attendance throughout the saw a series that was as exciting as it was competitive. For more about the series and to view a game scorecard, see: Third Army – Baseball Championship Series.

Game 1:  76th ID won, 1-0

Game 2:  71st ID won, 7-0

Game 3:  71st ID won, 2-1 (12 innings)

Game 4:  76th ID won, 4-2

Game 5:  71st ID won, 5-0

This baseball was handed down to Chris Krieger from his grandfather, Hans Krieger. Private Hans Krieger, part of the U.S. Army’s Special Services, while serving at Fort Benning, Georgia, served alongside Joe Costa who would be tasked with building a baseball team after VE-Day, for his unit, the 71st Infantry Division.

Part of Krieger’s duties in 1945, in addition to assisting Costa with managing the ballclub, was to transform a corner of the Third Reich’s Nuremberg Stadium into a ballpark. Some time after the Red Circlers defeated the 76th Division in the Third Army Championship series, Pvt. Krieger had some of the team autograph this baseball.

Based upon the manufacturer’s stamps that were in use from 1944 to 1946 by Spalding, this Official National League Baseball was made in either 1944 or 1945 and stamped with “U.S.” on the north panel

Full Name	Position
Bill Ayres	P
Charlie Bamberger	3B
Ewell Blackwell	P
Alpha Brazle	P
Herb Bremer	C
Benn H. Capp
Joe Costa	Manager
Ettore Giammarco	CF
Jim Gladd	C
Jack Haley	P
Ken Heintzelman	P
Louis Kauzlarich
Russ Kern	SS
Garland Lawing	LF
Earl Lindamood	P/OF
Anse Moore	3B
Andy Moroff
Marshall Nesmith	RF
Walter Olsen	P
Larry “Lefty” Powell	P
Bob Ramazzotti	SS
Rudy Rundus	P
Walter Smith	C
Tauzlarich	C
Milt Ticco	1B
Maurice Van Robays	OF
Harry Walker	OF
Johnny Wyrostek	CF
Benny Zientara	2B

Signed by 19 Red Circlers players (Johnny Wyrostek signed the ball twice) including seven of the eight pre-war major leaguers, the aggregation of autographs is a beautiful representation of the Third Army Championship roster. One autograph of particular note, Larry Powell, whose signature appears between Marshall Nesmith and Harry Walker, served throughout the European campaigns with the 18th Field Artillery and played on his unit team earlier in the 1945 ETO baseball campaign before being added to the 71st Division roster. See Threads of Lefty: From Ace Farmhand to the GI World Series for Powell’s full story.

In addition to the confirmation of Powell’s presence on the 71st Division roster, the last panel of the ball also showcases two autographs that will garner considerable interest are from Harry Walker and Ewell Blackwell, the most notable Red Circlers players.

Related Stories and Artifacts

• Third Army – Baseball Championship Series
• 1945 3rd Army Championship Flannel: Red Circlers of the 71st ID
• Threads of Lefty: From Ace Farmhand to the GI World Series
• Southern Germany Championship
• USFET GI World Series – September 2, 1945 Soldiers’ Field, Nuremberg
• Keeping Score at Nuremberg: A Rare 1945 GI World Series Scorecard
• HQ CMD – GI World Series – September 7, 1945 Reims, France

This baseball is part of the Chris Krieger collection. All images were provided by Mr. Krieger.