MLB: Twelve Players Who Made The Ultimate Sacrifice

A day of reflection, Memorial Day is reserved to remember those brave soldiers who never came home. Twelve MLB players are in those ranks. Here is their story.

As we pause and reflect this Memorial Day to remember the 1.1 million men and women who gave their lives defending the United States of America, Call to the Pen would like to take a moment and honor the 12 Major League Baseball players who ended up making the ultimate sacrifice.

From the formation of the National Association in 1871 through today, professional baseball players have served our country with honor and distinction. The website Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifice claims 205 major and minor league players died in service from the Spanish-American War through today’s Global War on Terror. They have accumulated 500 biographies on all persons with a baseball playing background perishing because of war. From pro and college players to Australian, Canadian and Japanese men who died in World War II, the site is a moving memorial to those who never made it home.

Unlike most baseball and war veteran stories told, there are no household names here. Just 12 men who played a game which we all love at the top level who served their country and never came home.

From the Spanish-American War to Korea, here are the stories of 12 people deserving to be shared.

Next: From the earliest days of the Majors

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Private William E. Stearns, US Army. (March 20, 1853-December 30, 1898)

As an 18-year-old boy, Bill Stearns was a charter player on the brand new Washington Olympians of the National Association, the predecessor of the National League. A hometown kid, Stearns made his debut on June 26, 1871, the 98th player in MLB history. Although the game record does not exist, Stearns started two games for the Olympians winning both while going the distance.

That would mark the high point of his baseball career. During his five seasons with Washington and the Hartford Dark Blues, Stearns amassed a record of 13-64 with an ERA of 4.28, a high number for the period. In 1873 starting 32 of the Washington Blue Legs 39 games, Stearns went 7-25. In 283 innings, he allowed 481 hits and a league-high eight home runs. He pitched every inning of his starts—one of two pitchers on his team—walking 16 and striking out five. Yes, five.

At 22, after the 1875 season with the Washington Nationals where he went 1-14 in 16 starts, Stearns was done as a big league pitcher.

When the Spanish-American War broke out, as Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifices tells us, Stearns volunteered for service in the Army and assigned to Company H, the First District of Columbia Volunteers. A logistical engineering unit, they trained for naval battle.

Part of the first wave of US Army troops landing in Puerto Rico on July 25, Stearns and his company helped build roads and piers after the Spanish Army fled the town of Guanica.

During his tour of duty there, Stearns contracted “poisoning of the stomach” and became too ill to fulfill his duties. After three weeks in Puerto Rico, Stearns and his mates sailed home to Washington. His condition, aggravated by a rough trip back to the United States, never improved.

Stearns died at his Washington home on December 30, 1898 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery as the first Major League Baseball player to die in wartime service.

Next: He had one at bat

Newton Schurz Halliday, US Navy (June 18, 1896-April 6, 1918)

Not much is known about Newt Halliday. Baseball Reference has no minor league statistics for him and Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifice carries few details as well.

From Chicago and a lanky 6 foot 1 and 175 pounds, Halliday’s lone game came on August 19, 1916 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The second game of a twinbill at Forbes Field against the Brooklyn Robins (now Dodgers) Halliday pinch hit for Honus Wagner, striking out against Rube Marquard. He stayed in the game, shifting to first, and made three putouts.

When the US became involved in the war, Halliday swapped a baseball uniform for a Naval one. Training at the Great Lakes Naval Station in Waukegan, Illinois, Halliday contracted tuberculosis in the fall of 1917.

A death sentence at the time, treatments worked for a while, but by April 1918, Halliday came down with a case of pneumonia. The combination of both diseases killed him on April 6. He was the first Major League player to die in the line of duty in World War I.

Halliday is interred at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in River Grove, Illinois.

Next: An unfortunate accident

Corporal Ralph Edward Sharman, US Army (April 11, 1895-May 24, 1918)

A hot prospect from semi-pro baseball signed by the New York Giants, Ralph Sharman played his brief Major League career with the Philadelphia Athletics.

Born in Cleveland, the 22-year-old was highly regarded as a defensive genius in the outfield who could also hit.

After a year playing for Portsmouth in the Ohio State League, Sharman spent 1916-17 primarily in the Texas League. With Galveston in 1916, he hit .277 with 17 doubles in 105 games.

Called up to the Athletics in September of 1917, Sharman played in 13 games, hitting a robust .297 while driving in two in his 42 plate appearances. He started eight games overall, six in center where he made his lone error. He played his first and last games at Shibe Park against the New York Yankees.

Called into active duty for 1918, Sharman made the rank of corporal in the 136th Field Artillery Unit, Battalion F. Training at Montgomery, Alabama’s Camp Sheridan, as Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifices tells us, his unit was conducting a training exercise on the Alabama River on May 24, 1918 when Sharman drowned. It took the weekend to recover him and Sharman received a full military funeral in Montgomery.

Today, he rests at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Next: The most prominent player to die in combat

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.

Next: A minor league legend

Sergeant Robert Gustav Troy, US Army (August 27, 1888-October 7, 1918)

Bun Troy was an accomplished minor league pitcher who made one start for the Detroit Tigers in 1912.

Born in Germany, Troy emigrated to Pennsylvania with his family just outside of Pittsburgh. It was there he learned how to pitch, eventually catching on with McKeesport Tubers of the Ohio-Pennsylvania League in 1910. Spending 1912 with the Adrian Lions of the Southern Michigan League, the 23-game winner caught the attention of the Tigers. According to Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifices, Troy’s lone game came in Detroit against the Washington Nationals and Walter Johnson. Troy went 6.2 innings, allowing four runs and hits, walking three and fanning one. He spent 1913 again with Adrian, winning another 23 games before pitching one last year with the Pittsfield, Mass Electrics of the Eastern Association.

When Pittsfield folded prior to the 1915 season, Troy’s days as a pro were over.

As with many others, Troy went through the ranks, making it to sergeant in 1918. A part of the Meuse-Argonne campaign, Troy, now an American, fought against his home country. Shot in the chest, Troy succumbed to his wounds at Evacuation Hospital Eight, camped at Petit Maujouy near Verdun on October 7.

First buried with his comrades in France, Troy now rests in his adopted hometown of McDonald, Pennsylvania at Robinson’s Run Cemetery.

Next: A defensive replacement

Lieutenant Alexander Thomson Burr, US Army Air Service (November 1, 1893-October 12, 1918)

Tom Burr, from Chicago, played in one Major League game.

A late-inning defensive substitution for the New York Yankees on April 21, 1914 against the Washington Nationals, Burr took over center field at the Polo Grounds when the starter, Bill Holden, was removed for pinch-runner, and future Hall of Famer, Frank Chance. Burr never recorded a chance in the outfield, nor made a plate appearance as the Yankees won in 10, 3-2.

Outside of his one big league game, he played for Jersey City in the International League, getting in seven games as a relief pitcher.

Retiring from baseball after the 1914 season, Burr enlisted in the US Army Air Service in 1917 and eventually went to France for further flight training and gunnery school. It was in Caszaux, according to Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifices, on October 12 where his plane collided with another at altitude, crashing into a nearby lake. Twelve days later, his remains were recovered and buried along with other American soldiers in France. Later, he was reinterred in his hometown of Chicago where he rests now at Rosehill Cemetery.

Next: The backup catcher

Harry E. Chapman, US Army (October 26, 1885-October 21, 1918)

The lone Federal League alumnus to die in the line of duty, the free-swinging Harry Chapman was a strong-armed catcher who bolted to a new league to make a name for himself.

A native of Severance, Kansas, Chapman’s pro baseball journey started for the Concordia Travelers of the Western Kansas League in 1910. Moving to the more established Western League and the Sioux City Packers, where he was a regular, the Chicago Cubs had interest and promoted Chapman to the big club where he played one game.

A trade to Cincinnati followed for another short two game spell in 1913. Jumping to the St. Louis Terriers of the newly formed Federal League, Chapman was a backup catcher who swung for the fences, and missed. In two years and 126 games, he hit .204, but smacked eight doubles, four triples and a home run. When he made contact, the ball flew.

After the Federal League folded in 1915, Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifices says the owner of the Terriers, Phil Ball, purchased the American League St. Louis Browns. Chapman followed and played the last 18 games of his big league career, spending 1916 and 17 with the Little Rock Travelers of the Southern Association.

Called into active service after the 1917 season, Chapman eventually caught the flu in the fall of 1918. Influenza lead to pneumonia and at State Hospital No. 3 in Nevada, Missouri, he died on October, 21.

Today, he rests at McPherson Cemetery in McPherson, Kansas.

Next: He was traded for Shoeless Joe

LaVerne Ashford Chappell, US Army, (February 19, 1890-November 8, 1919)

Larry Chappell was considered a can’t miss prospect. As a member of the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association, Chappell tormented pitches with his ability to hit triples, the power move of the day. From his debut with the Eau Claire Commissioners of the Minnesota-Wisconsin League in 1911 through his first two seasons with the Brewers, Chappell hit 43 triples, including 17 in 1912.

The Chicago White Sox held high hopes for the outfielder, bringing him south to Comiskey Park in July of 1913. As a Major League hitter, the good average and ability to triple never panned out. By 1915, the White Sox let him go to the Cleveland Indians, a four player deal seeing Shoeless Joe Jackson come to Chicago’s South Side.

Sold to the Boston Braves in 1916, Chappell moved to the west coast, eventually starring with the Salt Lake City Bees of the Pacific Coast League in 1918. In five big league seasons, Chappell appeared in 109 games, hitting .226 as a part-time corner outfielder.

When he dipped back into the minors, the batting average and triples bounced back. With Salt Lake in 1918, Chappell was hitting .325 with five home runs when he and several players left the team to serve.

A member of the Medical Corps, according to Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifices, Chappell was one of millions that fall to catch the Spanish Flu. As he served his duty at San Francisco’s Letterman General Hospital, he became a patient in late October and died three days before the armistice on November 8.

Buried in Jerseyville, Illinois Oak Grove Cemetery, Chappell was the last player to die in World War I.

Next: A star at the University of Michigan

Captain Elmer John Gedeon, US Army Air Force (April 15, 1917-April 20, 1944)

A standout athlete at the University of Michigan, Elmer Gedeon wanted to play pro baseball. On September 18, 1939, 17 days after the start of World War II, Gedeon got his wish as a member of the Washington Senators.

An outfielder, Gedeon’s Major League career lasted five games. The highlight came on September 19, his first start. Against the Cleveland Indians in Washington, Gedeon singled three times, walking once and scoring his only run in a 10-9 slugfest.

Spending 1940 with the Charlotte Hornets of the Piedmont League, a Washington affiliate, and as an assistant football coach at his alma mater, Gedeon was drafted in January 1941 and joined the Army that April.

First in the cavalry, according to Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifices, Gedeon transferred into the Army Air Force on October 22, 1941. Assigned to the 315th Bomb Squadron, 21st Bomb Group at Tampa’s MacDill, he trained there and in Arizona earning his wings.

Gedeon survived two plane crashes over the next couple years. One in Michigan cracked ribs and burned his body. By 1944, now part of the 586th Bomb Squadron stationed in England, now Captain Gedeon was part of a unit destroying bridges in France from the air.

His last mission came on April 20, over St. Pol, Gedeon’s B-26B encountered heavy flak. The plane dropped their bomb load on a construction site before being shot down and crashing into flames. All six soldiers, including Gedeon, died in the crash. This was his 13th combat mission.

After being found in a British cemetery in France in 1945, Gedeon now rests at Arlington National Cemetery.

Next: A football star

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First Lieutenant Harry Mink O’Neill, USMC (May 8, 1917-March 6, 1945)

More known for his football prowess at Gettysburg College, Harry O’Neill a contract instead with the Philadelphia Athletics after graduation in 1939.

Brought up right away to the big leagues as a third catcher, O’Neill got into one game as a late-inning replacement the entire season. On July 23, O’Neill replaced starting catcher Frankie Hayes in the eighth inning of a 16-3 blowout loss at Navin Field to the Detroit Tigers. He never reached the plate with a bat in hand and never caught a strike three.

For 1940, O’Neill caught 16 games for the Harrisburg Senators of the Interstate League, a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate before calling it a career. A football center, O’Neill, as told by Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifices, coached high school football and played semi-pro basketball before joining the Marines in 1942.

Sent to Quantico, Virginia for Officer’s Training School, O’Neill graduated as a second lieutenant. From there, he was assigned to the 4th Marine Division at Camp Pendleton. O’Neill was deployed into combat in January 1944 as part of the 25th Weapons Company. Wounded in action June 16 at Saipan taking a shell in the arm, O’Neill rested on a hospital ship before rejoining his division in late July.

The fighting in the Pacific was brutal. Close hand-to-hand combat as the Allied Forces met heavy fighting from the Japanese at each island. As the forces moved closer and closer to the Japanese home islands, the fighting became more and more ferocious. Part of a squadron landing on Iwo Jima in February 1945, O’Neill’s company would be bogged down in the fiercest fighting yet. On March 6, after a stalemate of a month, O’Neill was killed by a sniper.

Buried now at Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, O’Neill was the second and last Major League player to die in World War II.

Next: He was never found

Major Robert Otis Neighbors, US Air Force (November 9, 1917-August 8, 1952)

Bob Neighbors traded a promising career as an infielder for one instead with the military.

He started his road to the big leagues right out of Wildhorse High School in Osage County, Oklahoma, signing with the Siloam Springs Travelers of the Arkansas-Missouri League in 1936. A good hitter with power, slugging 16 home runs and 29 doubles his rookie year hitting .279, he climbed the ladder eventually reaching the St. Louis Browns in 1939 at 21.

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A late-season call-up, Neighbors made his debut on September 16 at Griffith Park against the Washington Senators. On September 21, at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox, Neighbors hit one into the Green Monster off Denny Galehouse for his lone big league home run, a solo shot in a losing effort. He played a handful of games before being sent back to the minors without being recalled.

After losing his first wife in a car accident, according to Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifices, and plateauing as a hitter in 1941 with San Antonio, Neighbors joined the war effort in May of 1942. Never seeing combat in World War II, he stayed in the Army Air Force after the war stationed at Maxwell Air Base in Mobile, Alabama.

When the Korean War flared, Neighbors flew combat missions as a member of the 3rd Bomber Group, 13th Bomb Squadron.

A pilot of a Douglas B-26B Invader on August 8, 1952, Neighbors and his crew of three radioed they had been hit over North Korea and were bailing out of the plane.

Next: Rickey Henderson Becomes Stolen Base King

That was the last anyone heard or saw him. Almost sixty-four years later, Neighbors is considered killed in action and never returned, the last MLB player considered to die in the service.