Chevrons and Diamonds

With four separate scorecards from the 1945 season in our collection, this is not only the most special of the crop but it is also one of the most historic and certainly one of our favorites. What makes this card special is that the original owner kept score and noted Bert Shepard‘s appearance in the game. From 1939 to 1942, Shepard was pitching in the minor leagues. Shephard spent 1942 with the LaCrosse Blackhawks of the Wisconsin State League compiling a 9-13 record with a 4.09 ERA in 23 games. The 22-year-old enlisted in March 1943 and entered flight training. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in early 1944 and sent to Europe as a P-38 Lightning pilot. On his 34th mission over enemy territory, an anti-aircraft round tore through his fuselage severely wounding his right leg and foot and knocking him unconscious. Shepard’s aircraft crashed into Germany.

The badly wounded pilot’s life was spared by a Luftwaffe medical officer who stepped in when angry German civilians set about to kill the wounded American. His leg was badly mangled which forced the German medical staff to amputate below the right knee in order to spare Shepard’s life. After recovering in a POW camp where his comrades fashioned a make-shift prosthetic leg, Shepard spent eight months in captivity before being sent him in a prisoner exchange. In March of 1945, Shepard was under contract with the Senators and in camp working to earn a spot on the team’s pitching staff.

This April 1, 1945 game was Shepard’s “first competitive baseball experience” since 1942 according to the April 4, 1945 Daily News Leader (Staunton, Virginia). Shepard entered the game in the eight inning surrendering only one walk. Despite pitching with a prosthetic leg, Shepard “faultlessly fielded a bunt attempt with Bluejacket’s Ace Parker on third, preventing the run from scoring.

Shepard’s outstanding pitching performance notwithstanding, the Senators were beaten 4-2 with Norfolk plating all of their runs in the seventh inning following a bases-clearing triple by Clyde McCullough off of Washington reliver, Marino Pieretti. Senator’s starter John Niggeling pitched six scoreless innings.

Download a printable copy of this program.

Showing three of four panels of the April , 1945 Norfolk Naval Training Station vs Washington Senators program. The paper of this program is slightly discolored due to aging and has some staining on the cover yet the overall condition is quite good. Each of the internal pages includes the full team roster and scoring grid.

1945 Norfolk Naval Training Station Bluejackets:

#	Player	Position	Former
55	Roy Allen	INF
53	Sig Broskie	C	Wilmington (ISLG)
25	Dom Caniglia	P
21	Herb Chmiel	P	Zanesville (MATL)
40	Wayne “Rip” Collins	P	Montreal (IL)
	Jack Conway	INF	Baltimore (IL)
	Jimmy Coyle
32	Jeff Cross	3B	Cardinals
49	Bill Deininger	C	Sheboygan (WISL)
16	Ernie “Hooks” DeVaurs	OF	Oakland (PCL)
	Henry Dudek	P
	Emil Kush	P	Cubs
	Fitz Lutz	Trainer
41	Lyle	P
10	Clyde McCullough	C	Cubs
	Russ Meers	P	Milwaukee (AA)
14	George Meyer	INF	Dallas (TL)
15	Bill Mueller	OF	White Sox
47	Joe Murray
11	John Neeper	P
27	Ace Parker	IF/MGR	Portsmouth (PIED)
36	Mel Preibisch	LF	Hartford (EL)
29	Jack Robinson	P	Binghamton (EL)
12	Joe Rusteck	P
	Hank Schenz	INF	Portsmouth (PIED)
75	Lou Sleater	P
	Max Surkont	P	Rochester (IL)
	Melvin Wham	OF

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