From the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball during the Great War

by Jim Leeke

Baseball, like the rest of the country, changed dramatically when the United States entered World War I, and Jim Leeke brings these changes to life in From the Dugouts to the Trenches.He deftly describes how the war obliterated big league clubs and largely dismantled the Minor Leagues as many prominent players joined the military and went overseas. By the war s endmore than 1,250 ballplayers, team owners, and sportswriters would serve, demonstrating that while the war was Over There, it had a considerable impact on the national pastime.


Leeke tells the stories of those who served, as well as organized baseball s response, including its generosity and patriotism. He weaves into his narrative the story of African American players who were barred from the Major Leagues but who still swapped their jerseys for fatigues and the stories of those who were killed in action and by disease or accidents and what their deaths meant to teammates, fans, and the sport in general.


From the Dugouts to the Trenches illuminates this influential and fascinating period in baseball history, as nineteen months of upheaval and turmoil changed the sport and the world forever.


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Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction, History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2017

Reviews

[Theo Logos · Rating 2 out of 5]

My grandfather fought in The Great War. He would tell very few tales of that time. But what he did talk about was playing baseball in France when he was “Over There.” I have a faded picture of him standing erect by a field wearing a baseball uniform with Toulouse lettered across his shirt. He talked as if he traveled around the country playing baseball at the close of the war. I have always hoped to flesh out these shadowy stories from my childhood, learn more about how organized of an endeavor he was involved in, maybe learn something about a Toulouse Baseball Team. That was my hope when I picked up this book. This didn’t turn out to be that book.

In fact, the book was mostly disappointing. More than half of it is focused on the difficulty of running the business of baseball during the war years of 1917-1918. Major League teams struggled, and most of the then existing Minor Leagues collapsed, going out of business. During the 1918 season, teams struggled to field complete rosters, as up to 38% of Major League players were pulled into the war effort. There were open questions of whether there would even be a 1919 season. There may have been an interesting way to tell this story, but author Jim Leeke didn’t find it. It was desert-dry reading.

The tale picked up a bit when Leeke finally started writing about what happened to the players “Over There.” Several players saw intense action, including Hank Gowdy, who became a hero when he was the first Major League player to enlist. Christy Mathewson, Ty Cobb, and Branch Rickey all served in the Army Chemical Warfare Service, and Mathewson and Cobb were both injured in a training accident that exposed them to poisoned gas. Cobb recovered, but Mathewson’s lungs were permanently damage, likely contributing to his early death from tuberculosis in 1925. Captain Eddie Grant became the first Big Leaguer to be killed in combat. After all of his superior officers were either killed or wounded, Grant took command of the 77th Infantry Division as they were fighting through The Argonne Forest to rescue the Lost Battalion. He was killed by a direct shell strike while issuing orders. Grover Alexander also saw considerable action, and though he survived the war, he returned a broken man.

This book disappointed me for not being the book I was hoping for, which is on me, but also because it was dry, uninteresting reading most of the way through, which is on the author. He did his research well, and you can learn things from this book, it just won’t be a thrilling read. Because it does contain good research, and because the last third picks up the pace, I wanted to give it three stars. But when I considered how often I found myself so bored with the writing that I was simply skimming the pages, I realized that I couldn’t honestly rate this one above two stars.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the United States entered World War I, the country was about to undergo a dramatic transformation. The sport and business of baseball was caught up in these changes as well, and what the game went through is captured in this interesting and well-written book by Jim Leeke.

Using his experience as both a veteran of the Navy and as a sportswriter, Leeke takes the reader onto both the baseball fields and the battlefields as he weaves the stories of the game, the players and the war itself seamlessly. The book begins with the details of each American League team (and some National League ones as well) learning military drill exercises using bats instead of rifles. This was done to show the patriotism of the players and owners and let people know the game supported the military. This portion of the book was very captivating, writing from several viewpoints – those of the players, the drill instructors and American League President Ban Johnson, among others.

From there, the book weaves nicely between war stories about Major League players, the struggles of the game back home in the States with many minor leagues closing the 1918 season early, and what the Major Leagues had to do with the “work or fight” edict that was set down by the government. What the sport did was to end the season early, play the World Series that was won by the Red Sox over the Cubs, and then disbanded the teams to either serve in the military or work in military-related jobs.

Lastly, Leeke writes about the armistice that ended the war and the return of the players from the war and the return of many of the minor leagues that struggled in 1918. Stories about players like Hank Gowdy, and Grover Cleveland Alexander were enjoyable reading, as were the stories about owners who supported the war effort as best as they could. Clark Griffith’s contribution of baseball equipment made for a great story, even if the good intentions fell short as the shipment did not make it to the doughboys overseas.

This is a book that is equal parts baseball, business and military history. Readers who enjoy any of these topics will enjoy reading this book.

I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Does it all still matter, a hundred years on?" the author blithely asks in the introduction. Mr. Leeke then swiftly dispels my initial cynicism and puts together a story that is informative and very easily readable. Baseball was wholly affected by World War I in a way that makes the story of how it limped along during World War II in spite of all odds all the more miraculous. However, because of the timing of World War II, the author theorizes, the time for analysis of the confluence of those particular historic events has been somewhat glossed over and hasn't been told properly; people were fully immersed in the second World War before the impacts of the first one could be realized. An there was a definite impact, which may have been lost on anyone who hadn't lived through it. A government edict declaring the sport not "work," and thus putting most players not in compliance with the order to "work or fight" on the part of the war effort; a collapsing Minor League system felt long before the Majors' dwindling popularity; in-quarrels between players and popular opinion about whether to enlist or whether to find domestic employment. And the stories, oh the stories, of how individuals responded, from those who stayed away to those who gave their lives. The bulk of the book focuses mainly on how the war shaped the Major Leagues and Minor Leagues, with a smattering about the sports media -- if there were one piece I would've liked to see expanded more fully, it would have been the impact on other leagues -- "colored" independent teams, semipro, academia -- though the book hardly suffers without it, reading almost like a collection of short stories, at times, rather than a scholarly work. A must for anyone interested in that very strange little era in our history. 4****1/2

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite an interesting part of world history, and baseball history come together as one. If you like world history or baseball history. This Maybe a book you may want to read.

[Don Heiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Leeke’s 2017 book “From the Dugouts to the Trenches” chronicles baseball during World War 1. Leeke explains how Major League Baseball survived the loss of its players to military service, baseball’s support of war industries, and the overseas heroism of great players such as Christy Mathewson, Walter Johnson, and Tris Speaker. I found the storylines very interesting and relevant to our deep respect for those who serve in today’s U.S. armed forces. (P)