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Originally Posted by Scott Garner
Nice Gehrig pickup, Mark!
I just picked up this great original photo of Johnny Vander Meer warming up prior to pitching in the 1944 Army vs. Navy Pacific World Series. The backdrop of literally thousands of active duty military personnel in the background and barracks buildings makes for an interesting visual, IMHO.
This photo came directly from the Johnny Vander Meer family estate.
The Navy crushed the Navy in a 9 game series that was played in the Hawaiian islands during late September through October 1944 and was the brainchild of Admiral Nimitz who thought this would be a great way to entertain troops and keep moral up. In total, the Navy won 6 (2 wins by Vandy and 3 by Virgil Trucks), the Army won 2, and one game ended in a tie.
This photo is a perfect compliment to several other items that I have related to Vander Meer's hitch in the Navy in WWII.
Here are two other Vander Meer related to the 1944 Pacific Army Navy World Series. The first is a dated ticket stub to the second game in the series. Vandy was the winning pitcher, defeating the Army 5-2. The other item is an original scorecard to Vander Meer's 2nd and final win in the series, allowing the Navy to take a 5-0 start to begin what ended up being a lopsided trouncing.
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Mince addition to to greatest vander meer collection out there. Awesome