 Baseball
In Football (Soccer) Country
The Red Devils brought many things to Nottingham, not the least
of which was America's favorite sport.
It isn't certain whether the man in the six-by here is under arrest or
just wishing the truck would leave for the game which was held on
Sunday, May 28, 1944.
While the English must have struggled to grasp the nuances of the game, there
were some 7,000 in attendance when the Red Devils stepped up to the plate
and blasted their opponents out of the Meadow Lane soccer ground
turned into a baseball park for the day.Read
"505th and 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment" beginning on page 11
of the
Baseball in Wartime Newsletter. Published with permission of
author Gary Bedingfield who emailed the comment, "Over the many years
that I have been researching wartime baseball - and Lefty Brewer's
exploits in particular - I have developed a keen interest in the 508th
PIR." |
DEVILS DEMOLISH PANTHERS
The 508th Red Devils played the exhibition game against
the 505th PIR Panthers.
Okey Mills was on the mound for the game start of the game.
He was later relieved by Lefty Brewer in the fourth inning.
"Lefty had one of the best pick-off moves I've ever seen," says
Mills. "He picked off the first two men that got on base - just left 'em
high and dry."
The Red Devils outclassed the Panthers, 18-0 |
Red Devils Team
wearing improvised uniforms with numbered tags
Back row: Gene Matuszewski, Walter Lupton, Jack Bonvillain, Frank Labuda
and Bud Warnecke
Front row: Forrest "Lefty" Brewer, Ralph Busson, Ray Brown, Lem Parrish
and Rene Croteau
courtesy baseballinwartime.com) |
The photo popped up again when it was
sent to us by Nico Jongeneel, a Dutch collector of memorabilia.
His version, however, is from an
official press release that was sent to hometown newspapers and bears
the stamp "PASSED FOR PUBLICATION"
(courtesy of Nico Jongeneel) |
|
Press Release- "Some of the boys who played in a
baseball game on Sunday 28th May in Nottingham, England, when the Red
Devils beat "The Panthers". One of the boys in the
photograph comes from your district."
(courtesy of Nico Jongeneel) |
#43 - Pvt Gene Matuszewski, Buffalo, NY
#22 - T/5 Frank Labuda, Chicago Heights, IL
#19 - Sgt Ralph Busson, Doylestown, OH |
#24 - Pvt Walter Lupton, Springfield
Gardens, NY
#21 - Sgt Adolph Warnecke, Breese. IL
#18 - T/5 Ray Brown, Vivian, LA
|
#23 - T/5 Joseph Bonvillain, Shreveport, LA
#20 - Pvt Forrest Brewer, Jacksonville,
FL
#17 - Pvt Lemuel Parrish, Lakeland, FL
#?? - Rene Croteau, Holyoke, MA |
(Game coverage continues on next page)
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