Chevrons and Diamonds

One of the more interesting military baseball programs that I located comes from a game that, in all likelihood, was played somewhere in the Mediterranean region 22 days following Germany’s unconditional surrender. Especially interesting is the statement by the commanding officer (Colonel William Withey) of the sponsoring unit (Air Force General Depot #5) regarding the significance of the day on which the game was scheduled to be played.

Unlike other scorecards, scorebooks and programs that surface within the militaria collectors’ market, the printed rosters of the opposing teams consist of average “Joes” rather than professional ball players. Judging by the way each roster is assembled, the players were considered stars of their respective command teams (with fantastic names such as, “Thunderbolts, Cloud Spotters, Signaliers, Olive Grovers and Gay Nineties”) and were part of two separate leagues (“American” and “National”). In taking my first few passes through the names, there are are a few men who may have had pre-war professional experience or pursued ball-playing careers upon their return home.

Another inconsistency with other military baseball competition ephemera is that this particular command (Air Force General Depot Number Five) leaving me without any means to determine where this game was played. In tracing the command’s scant historical details, it was a subordinate command to the Air Service Command (ASC) Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) which was, in turn subordinate to the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces (MAAF) that was, prior to January 1, 1944, the XII Air Force Service Command (part of Twelfth Air Force).

In narrowing the locations down, it is very possible that this game was played somewhere within the vicinity of Naples (the ASC MTO was based at Naples, Italy, February, 1944 through 30 November 30,  1945 at what is today, the Naples International Airport). As was done at Pearl Harbor with the construction of Furlong Field, the USAAF could have constructed a temporary ball-field and seating for baseball games. However, it seems more plausible that the Stadio Arturo Collana was re-configured (the dimensions of the playing surface are not conducive to baseball diamonds) to accommodate the game. All of this is merely speculation as I have yet to determine exactly where the command was situated in May of 1945.

This artifact lacks the traditional scorecard printing and instead, simply lists the two teams’ rosters. For those who seek to research players from these teams, besides the team names and the players’ positions, the rosters also provide the the first, middle and last name (for most of the men) along with their rank (as of May 30th, 1945) and their hometown providing a great jumping-off point.

To better accommodate search internet search engine crawling and indexing, the rosters have been transcribed:

American League All Star Team Roster:

Rank	ALL Star	Position	Team	Home Town
T/Sgt	Wilson, Silas L.	SS	Cloud Spotters	Little Rock, AR
S/Sgt	Bottone, Louis J.	1B	Signaliers	Norwalk, CT
S/Sgt	Yoakam, Lawrence V.	SS	Thunderbolts	Mt. Vernon, OH
Sgt	Beyers, Robert G.	SF	Olive Grovers	Seattle, WA
Sgt	Branzel, Donal H.	C	Thunderbolts	Pittsburgh, PA
Sgt	Fichtner, Richard P.	SF	Cloud Spotters	Jeannette, PA
Sgt	Harper, Claude L.	1B	Thunderbolts	LaHabra, CA
Cpl	Delekta, Stanley W.	1B	Tech School	Detroit, MI
Cpl	De Frank, Rudy	3B	Tech School	Highland Park, MI
Cpl	Granger, Guillermo	SS	Gay Nineties	Laredo, TX
Cpl	Kuhlig, Joseph J.	SS	Tech School	Noble, IL
Cpl	Morrissette, Francis J.	P	Diamond Club	St. Paul, MN
Cpl	O’Hare, William J.	3B	Gay Nineties	Muse, PA
Cpl	Sokolowski, Alex, J.	3B	Olive Grovers	Toledo, OH
Cpl	Zelenka, Gearge	LF	Gay Nineties	Owosso, MI
T/5	Goodall, John D.	SS	Signaliers	Niagra Falls, NY
T/5	Thibault, Erwin Jr.	CF	Signaliers	Pitmant, NJ
Pfc	Kittner, Harold P.	2B	Cloud Spotters	Chicago, IL
Pfc	Reynolds, Avery L.	P	Olive Grovers	Marmaduke, AR
Pvt	Ludwit, John W.	C	Diamond Club	Higgins, PA
Pvt	Wayler, Edward	LF	Diamond Club	Hartford, CT
Sgt	Debney, Jack W.	Mgr	Thunderbolts	Pittsburgh, PA
Pfc	DiMinico, Joseph	Asst. Mgr	Signaliers	Revere, MA

 

American League All Star Team Roster:

Rank	ALL Star	Position	Team	Home Town
1st/Sgt.	Luebke, Ray	1B	Tigers	Milwaukee, WI
T/Sgt	Case, Billy M.	3B	Texans	Ada, OK
T/Sgt	Cusick, George L.	LF	Mud Hens	Topeka, KS
S/Sgt	Anderson, Clarence W.	P	A. Flyers	Jamestown, NY
S/Sgt	Tinlin, Bill F.	1B	Trucksters	Garretsville, OH
Sgt	Baitenfeld, Henry	SS	Texans	Glendale, NY
Sgt	Dybas, Joseph	1B	Texans	Syracuse, NY
Sgt	Ginsburg, Martin	LF	A. Flyers	New York, NY
Sgt	Hughes, Harold G.	CF	Rookies	Cincinnati, OH
Sgt	Janas, Frank J.	SF	Red Birds	Chicago, IL
Sgt	Jasulevicz, Joseph L.	SS	Tigers	Wilkes-Barre, PA
Sgt	Keenan, Leo M.	3B	Mud Hens	Minneapolis, MN
Sgt	Melkerson, Richard A.	C	Red Birds	Vanport, PA
Sgt	Pruzinsky, George E.	3B	Mosquitos	Bridgeport, CT
Sgt	Shepard, Bernard G.	C	A. Flyers	St. Albans, VA
Sgt	Simonaitis, John	SS	Mosquitos	Hunter, NY
Sgt	Wheeler, Ralph E.	P	Tigers	Binghampton, NY
Cpl	Errigo, Faust A.	CF	Trucksters	Phoenix, AZ
Cpl	Thompson, Melvin A.	IF	Rookies	York, NE
Cpl	Tice, Carmen G.	1B	Rookies	Neshboro, WI
Cpl	Turner, James A. Jr.	1B	Playboys	St. Louis, MO
Cpl	Weaver, Austin C.	P	Red Birds	New Albany, IN
Pfc	Ambrosino, Alfred	C	Mosquitos	Brooklyn, NY
Pfc	Lott, William E.	C	Trucksters	Whistler, AL
T/5	Larimer, John E.	3B	Athletics	Detroit, MI
T/5	Klimek, Henry J.	P	Athletics	Chicago, IL
Pfc	Ambrosino, Alfred	C	Mud Hens	Kyle, TX
Pfc	Thompson, Milton	SF	Playboys	Los Angeles, CA
Pfc	Waddle, Irwin D.	OF	Athletics	Sterling, CO
Pfc	Womack, George W. Jr.	SS	Playboys	Ringgold, VA
S/Sgt	Banks, Thomas A.	Mgr	A. Flyers	Albuquerque, NM
Sgt	Sanchioni, August V.	Asst. Mgr	Mosquitos	Buffalo, NY

Additional (researchable) information is presented on the back page of the program with a message from the commanding officer of General Depot Number five.

“Today marks the second of our Annual Memorial Day Classics here at Air Force General Depot Number Five, may it be the last.

However, we could have spent the time in places much more uncomfortable. We have had a good place in which to live, at least a healthy one, and we can all feel that we have done our bit towards the successful completion of the war.

Last year we tried to make the day a little bit of America and at that time it was not “TWO DOWN AND ONE TO GO”. This year we can do the same, but with the definite knowledge that we shall soon see the United States again.

For myself I feel that today has a more joyful feeling than last year because of what has conspired in the interval, and I know that all of you share that with me.

Let us not, however, on this Memorial Day, forget those who have made the supreme sacrifice and for whom this day is so designated.

-William W. Withey,
Colonel, Air Corps,
Commanding.”

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