1952 Topps #88, Bob Feller ⭐ American Hero
On December 9, 1941, 23-year-old Bob Feller became the the first major leaguer to enlist after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, enlisting in the U.S. Navy.
Feller recounts the events this way:
"It was Dec. 7, 1941. I was driving to my meeting with my Cleveland Indians bosses to hash out my 1942 contract, and out it came on the radio: the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor.
“The last thing on my mind right then was playing baseball. I immediately decided to enlist in the United States Navy. I didn’t have to — I was 23 and strong-bodied, you bet, but with my father terminally ill back in Van Meter, Iowa, I was exempt from military service."
“It didn’t matter to me — I wanted to join the fight against Hitler and the Japanese. We were losing that war and most young men of my generation wanted to help push them back. People today don’t understand, but that’s the way we felt in those days. We wanted to join the fighting."
