Casualties of War

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by 2dueces

Bob Kalsu. The only professional football player killed in the Vietnam war.

As I stated in one of the early posts this thread is not to just list names of athletes, but to also show their signatures.

By the way you are also incorrect. Bob Kalsu was not the only pro football player to die in Vietnam. Don Steinbrunner was the first pro football player to die in the Vietnam War. Steinbrunner played 8 regular season games at tackle for the 1953 Cleveland Browns. He also played in the 1953 NFL championship game where the Browns lost to the Lions 17-16. He enlisted in the Air Force. He rose to the rank of major. On July 20, 1967 the plane he was flying in was shot down over Kon Tum killing all five aboard.

[2dueces]

Originally Posted by Michael B

As I stated in one of the early posts this thread is not to just list names of athletes, but to also show their signatures.

By the way you are also incorrect. Bob Kalsu was not the only pro football player to die in Vietnam. Don Steinbrunner was the first pro football player to die in the Vietnam War. Steinbrunner played 8 regular season games at tackle for the 1953 Cleveland Browns. He also played in the 1953 NFL championship game where the Browns lost to the Lions 17-16. He enlisted in the Air Force. He rose to the rank of major. On July 20, 1967 the plane he was flying in was shot down over Kon Tum killing all five aboard.

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Thank you Michael, I stand corrected. Kalsu played for the Bills and was an active player in the AFL. Was Steinbrunner active at the time? Not that it matters. I was just posting his name hoping someone had his autograph.

[1treasuretrove]

Here is one I used to own of Young Bussey. He was a champion backup QB for the Bears and quit football to join the Navy after Pearl Harbor. He died in battle a few years later.

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by 2dueces

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Thank you Michael, I stand corrected. Kalsu played for the Bills and was an active player in the AFL. Was Steinbrunner active at the time? Not that it matters. I was just posting his name hoping someone had his autograph.

Steinbrunner was no longer a player when he died. He had to fulfill his military obligations and entered the Air Force. He had injured his knee playing in college which continued to be an issue in the pros. While he was in the service the Browns won NFL titles in 1954 and 1955. He chose to stay in the Air Force where he served until he died. During his service he was an assistant football coach at the Air Force Academy for 4 years.

It was not until many years later that it was discovered that Steinbrunner was the first and only other pro football casualty of the Vietnam War. He was honored by the Browns on November 14, 2004.

It would be interesting to see his signature. It is good to see when other members are able to contribute to this thread, which is a fascinating part of my collecting.

[theshleps]

I just purchased a 1941 Whos Who with 400 autographs. Who was a WWI war casualty who could be in there?

[1treasuretrove]

Originally Posted by theshleps

I just purchased a 1941 Whos Who with 400 autographs. Who was a WWI war casualty who could be in there?

There would be a chance of three war casualties from a 1939 season (Gideon, O'Neill, Neighbors) item with that many autographs, not sure of any from 1941.

[Michael B]

Some new signatures to add to this thread. I acquired a July, 1948 menu from the RMS Queen Elizabeth (I). This ship took the U.S. fencing team along with the Cuban Olympic team to London for the 1948 Olympics This menu was signed by all members of the fencing team including coaches and spouses and about half of the Cuban team. One signature is from this menu. The other 3 are from a 1932 Olympic autograph album I got two weeks ago. I posted some signatures of famous Hollywood people who signed this album in the December pickups thread.

Manuel Puig - competed for Cuba in rowing in 1948, but did not medal. He was executed by the Cuban government in 1961 for assisting the CIA in the Bay of Pigs invasion. His brother Ramón competed with him. He eventually made it to the U.S. and died in Miami in 2016.

Izuo Anno - competed for Japan in athletics in 1932, but did not medal. He was killed in the Battle of South Guangxi in December, 1939 during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Akilles Järvinen - competing for Finland he won a silver medal in the decathlon at the 1928 and 1932 Olympics. He died in March, 1943 during a military training flight in Finland.

András Székely - competing for Hungary he won a bronze medal in swimming at the 1932 games. He was Jewish and was sent to the Chernihiv Concentration Camp (now either NE Ukraine or SW Russia) where he was murdered in January, 1943.