As a teenager, Tony Gianunzio dreamed of pitching at Wrigley Field, propelling the Chicago Cubs to a World Series title and breaking a long championship drought … at the time, more than 30 whole years. World affairs had other ideas: A few months after drawing some attention during a Cubs tryout camp in 1942, Gianunzio would be in the Coast Guard, eventually headed into service in the Pacific as a gunner’s mate aboard the patrol frigate Machias. “The summer of ’42 had promised me the best of days,” Gianunzio would write in his memoir. “Youth had seemed a forever gift, and now all…
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On Saturday, Mitch Harris became the first Naval Academy graduate since 1921 to play in a Major League Baseball game, according to the Baseball Hall of Fame and the academy itself. Many of the stories noting Harris’ achievement, or his initial call-up to the St. Louis Cardinals from the minors, gave a passing mention to his lone USNA predecessor: Nemo Gaines, who pitched in four games for the Washington Senators. Like Harris, Gaines pitched in relief. Unlike Harris, his time in the majors didn’t come after his time in active service: Gaines secured what amounted to extended leave to pitch in the…
The writer of this entry is a Red Sox fan, so he’s paying close attention to the World Series. He’s also been fascinated with the source of the helmet worn by outfielder Jonny Gomes during playoff-related celebrations, something about which Gomes has been elusive, other than mentioning it’s been “battle tested.” Well, Gomes is correct — it’s been battle tested, alright, and it’s also appeared in a war zone. Army Master Sgt. Miguel Chacon’s relationship with Gomes dates back to earlier this season, when Gomes saw the soldier in the crowd and tossed him a pair of batting gloves. Chacon,…
Not much else is known about the event, other than this tidbit appearing on Boston.com, a web publication of The Boston Globe: Three surviving Medal of Honor recipients will be honored at Fenway Park before Game 1 of the World Series begins Wednesday. According to Peter Abraham, soldiers Salvatore Giunta, Clinton Romesha and William Swenson will be recognized before the first pitch. First pitch for the series opener between the Cardinals and Red Sox is scheduled for 8:07 p.m. In addition, Abraham reported, retired Marine Sgt. Dan Clark will perform “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch.
There are no sure things in baseball. But if your minor-league club has a leadership award, and it also has an Naval Academy graduate on the roster who is four years older than everybody else on the team, and he’s got an earned-run average under 1.00, well … To no one’s surprise, the State College (Pa.) Spikes honored Reserve Lt. Mitch Harris with the Spikes Leadership Award late last month, a few weeks before wrapping up their season with a 4-3 loss to the Tri-City ValleyCats in Game 3 of the best-of-3 New York-Penn League Championship Series. Harris, a reliever…
Navy Reserve Lt. Mitch Harris has finished his duty on ships. Now, it’s time for the bus. The 2008 Naval Academy graduate, a 13th-round draft pick of the St. Louis Cardinals, will begin his minor-league baseball career Monday as a relief pitcher with the State College (Pa.) Spikes, a short-season single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The 6-foot-4 right-hander will team up with players fresh out of college, eager to start their path to the majors in the New York-Penn League, riding the bus all over the Northeast, from Maryland to Vermont. At 28, he’s a few months older…
While armchair bracketologists begin pretending to understand college basketball and sinking workplace productivity, the Air Force men’s hoops team will be taking a long road trip to begin play Wednesday in an unheralded postseason tournament. After the NCAA selects its 68 teams and the NIT grabs 32, the folks at CollegeInsider.com choose 32 teams for their event, which begins Tuesday and runs through an April 2 title game that will air live on the CBS Sports Network. Home teams reportedly pay about $35,000 for the right to participate, with road teams receiving some money to help cover travel costs. The…
The Army baseball team’s best crowd this season likely will attend a game that won’t count in the standings. But when the New York Yankees come to West Point — the first pro team to do so since the Houston Astros in 1986 — the March 30 game against the Black Knights (0-2 so far this year) will be so big, temporary bleachers will be hauled in to boost Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field’s capacity from 824 to more than 5,000 fans, according to an Army athletic department release. Tickets will cost $40 to $50. They go on sale March…
Before he became “The Man,” he was simply a sailor. A 24-year-old sailor with a National League Most Valuable Player award and two World Series wins. A sailor who, months before joining the Navy, led the NL with 197 hits, 51 doubles and a .541 slugging percentage — a stat that didn’t even exist yet — before leading his St. Louis Cardinals over the crosstown rival Browns in the Fall Classic. But still, a sailor. Stan Musial, who died Saturday at age 92, entered service at the tail end of World War II, joining a list of veteran baseball players…
The “Battle on the Midway” college basketball game set for Nov. 9 on a decommissioned aircraft carrier in San Diego was supposed to be the centerpiece of a Veterans Day weekend celebration, including a charity concert, a fan fest and a fancy dinner. Now, all of the surrounding events have been canceled, according to a U-T San Diego report, and the game itself could vanish next. The contest between Syracuse and San Diego State, to be held in a 4,000-seat temporary stadium aboard the Midway, is not sold out, according to the report. The U-T says the $1,000-a-seat tickets have…
