Chevrons and Diamonds

In the months following the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich, the occupation forces were tasked with keeping the peace, seeking out war criminals, providing security to the war-torn populace as the transitioning of a fighting force was taking place. For the hundreds of thousands of American troops stationed throughout the European Theater of Operations (ETO), this meant that there would be an inordinate amount of idle time for the troops. Leadership saw an opportunity for the men to occupy their minds and bodies and directed the formation of continent-wide baseball leagues that incorporated 100,000 troops to fill out hundreds of unit rosters that would compete throughout the summer of 1945 and culminated in the ETO World Series that was played at Soldiers’ Field (at Nuremberg Stadium) in the fall.

Though the occupation forces had been greatly contracted as wartime soldiers and airmen were discharged and sent home, baseball remained an important component in keeping troops busy in 1946. This scorecard was used during the season for a game played between the 39th and 60th Infantry teams. The game, played on the first anniversary of VE Day (May 8, 1946) and hosted by the “Go Devils” of the 60th Infantry Regiment (see: Pro Ball Players Still Filled Army Rosters in 1946: “Go Devils” G.I. World Series Champs) who would go on to win the Third Army Championship and culminating with the 1946 ETO World Series victory

60th Infantry Regiment, “Go-Devils” 1946 Roster (major leaguers in bold):

Number	Full	Pos	Home
3	John Boehringer	P	Adamastown, PA
16	Frank Eagan	OF	Port Huron, MI
4	Don Frischknecht	OF	Manti, UT
1	Floyd Gurney	1B	Cleveland, OH
28	Joseph Hewitt	Coach	Atlantic City, NJ
24	James Kilbane	OF	Cleveland, OH
12	William Kurey	2B	Binghamton, NY
5	Jack Lance	3B	Scranton, PA
14	William Laughlin	3B	E. St. Louis, IL
26	Richard Menz	C	Rochester, PA
8	Joseph Moresco	P	Wilkes Barre, PA
15	William Putney	SS	Big Island, VA
38	John Sanderson	P	Brooklyn, NY
6	Carl Scheib	P	Gratz, PA
9	Ronald Slaven	2B	Detroit, MI
20	Angelito Soto	OF	Blythe, CA
7	Fay Starr	OF	Fort Worth, TX
42	George Straka	C	Reading, PA
11	William Wasson	P	Lockport, NY
2	Jerry Weston	OF	St. Louis, MO
25	George Zallie	OF	Philadelphia, PA

The bi-folded single page is printed (in monochrome) on lightweight (flimsy) paper. While the inside spread is filled with an unused scorer’s grid, it is lacking in details for the visiting team. The back page is filled with the roster details, spotlighting the 60th IR Go Devils squad.

The overall condition is good with a stain on both leading edge pages with minor creasing on the open corners. There is no paper loss and the ink is still quite crisp.

This scorecard was acquired as part of a group (that included photos and a championship card) that belonged to one of the players, second baseman, PFC William Kurey.

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