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Baseball greats who fought in WWII

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They don't call it the Greatest Generation for nothing.

Thirty-nine baseball Hall of Famers served in World War II.

Famous Figures

T hey don't call it the Greatest Generation for nothing. Of the hundreds of ballplayers who have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, 39 belong to an extra-special class: those who served in the military during World War II. That list includes such all-time greats as Yogi Berra (Navy), Ted Williams (Marines), Jackie Robinson (Army), and Joe DiMaggio (Army), all of whom put up some of the most impressive numbers in baseball history despite losing several years of their careers while on active duty. Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, did so after attaining the rank of second lieutenant as part of the 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion — a segregated unit whose motto was "Come Out Fighting." Like baseball, the military did not officially desegregate until after the war.

Anyone who's seen A League of Their Own knows that World War II led to another massive change in the sport: the creation of women's leagues, most notably the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Active in the Midwest between 1943 and 1954, the league consisted of 15 teams whose players were themselves inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.

By the Numbers

Members of the Baseball Hall of Fame

346

Length (in games) of Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak, the longest in history

56

Length (in games) of Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak, the longest in history

56

Career batting average of Ted Williams

.344

Jackie Robinson's jersey number, which was retired by every MLB team

42

Jackie Robinson's jersey number, which was retired by every MLB team

42

Did you know?

Joe DiMaggio wasn't inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first try.

When referring to superlative athletes, we often call them "first-ballot Hall of Famers," meaning players so exceptional that they're guaranteed to be inducted in their first year of eligibility. And while Joe DiMaggio is likely to be found on any list of the greatest ballplayers of all time, he wasn't actually a first-ballot inductee. Or second, for that matter. DiMaggio made it to Cooperstown on his third ballot after retirement, receiving 88.8% of the vote (the minimum requirement being 75%) in 1955. 

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