X-Nico

10 unusual facts about 1943 in baseball


Anna Meyer

In 1942, chewing gum magnate and Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley decided to start a women's pro softball league, concerned that the 1943 major-league season might be canceled because of World War II.

Betsy Jochum

Chewing gum magnate and Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley decided, in 1942, to start a women's professional baseball league, concerned that the 1943 Major League Baseball season might be canceled because of World War II.

Bingo DeMoss

Elwood "Bingo" DeMoss (September 5, 1889 – January 26, 1965) was a baseball player and manager in the Negro Leagues from 1905 to 1943.

Candy Jim Taylor

In 1943 Taylor managed the Homestead Grays to their first Negro League World Series title, repeating their success again the following year.

Ken Chase

Kendall Fay Chase (October 6, 1913 – January 16, 1985) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between 1936 and 1943.

Kerby Farrell

Farrell in his playing days was a first baseman and veteran minor-leaguer who played two full MLB seasons during the World War II manpower shortage, with the 1943 Boston Braves and the 1945 Chicago White Sox, batting .262 with no home runs and 55 runs batted in.

Lou Klein

Klein was the everyday second baseman for the Cardinals in the 1943 season, playing every inning of the season, but then served the next two years in the military during World War II.

Racine Belles

Nonetheless, the Belles did win the league championship in 1943, but over the Kenosha Comets, not the Rockford Peaches as the movie depicts.

Red Marion

While Marty played 13 years in the Major Leagues, Red Marion played in only 18 big-league games — four in 1935 and the remainder in 1943 — all for the Washington Senators.

Wid Matthews

Seven years later, he moved with Redbird GM Branch Rickey to the Brooklyn Dodgers, where he served as the Dodgers' director of Midwest scouting through the 1949 season.