Archives: Bob Feller and World War II

Just a reminder that I’m on vacation this week, so I’ll be re-running some editions from the archives.

I’ve written a fair amount about Bob Feller, probably because he was not only a great pitcher but was also a deeply complex guy who I don’t think anyone will ever fully figure out. The fact that he was the greatest young pitcher ever, then served in World War II, then was openly opposed to Black players in the major leagues even while barnstorming with Satchel Paige, before finally coming around to the idea and advocating for Negro Leaguers to be elected to the Hall of Fame, provide us with all sorts of interest facts of his career and personality to explore. Many of them are contradictory, and some are just plain weird, like his odd need for people to acknowledge that he was even greater than his Hall Fame numbers indicate. I wrote about that back in March of 2023.