Captain Edward Leslie Grant, US Army (May 21, 1883-October 5, 1918)
Perhaps the most established player to die in service, Eddie Grant played 990 games over ten seasons for four clubs.
After a brief cup of coffee with the American League’s Cleveland Naps in 1905, Grant became a regular in 1907 with the Philadelphia Phillies. Twice, he led the National League in at bats, 1908 and 09. With the Phillies, he routinely swiped over 25 bases a season, hitting a modest .258 in four years.
A third baseman, he was sent to Cincinnati as part of a six player swap on November 12, 1910. With the Reds, he played shortstop but fell out of the everyday lineup in 1912. Sold to the New York Giants in 1913, he remained a utility player through the end of his career in 1915. Grant retired at 32, with 844 career hits and 153 stolen bases.
A graduate of Harvard and an attorney, Grant prepared for the Great War by joining other lawyers and the Mayor of New York—John P. Mitchel—training for possible combat upstate in Plattsburgh.
Grant would see combat in France in 1918. A captain with the 77th division of the 307th Infantry Regiment, Grant’s forces, according to Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifices, took heavy losses during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. With his superior officers killed in battle, he led a formation in search of the infamous Lost Battalion. Hit by an exploding shell, Eddie Grant was killed on October 5, 1918.
The first big league player killed in combat, the New York Giants honored him Memorial Day 1921 with a plaque at the Polo Grounds. If you have ever seen the footage or pictures of Willie Mays historic catch in the 1954 World Series, the monument in center field is the Eddie Grant Memorial.
Grant lies with his comrades in France at the cemetery built for the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in Romange.
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