Ace Phil Marchildon - Canada's Pitching Sensation & Wartime Hero

by Phil Marchildon, Brian Kendall

Autobiography of Phil Marchildon - the Canadian major league baseball pitcher who starred for Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics.

234 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Caleb]

When war calls, many choose not to answer, but that's not what Phil Marchildon did. He left his dream job, a major league baseball player, to help the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. Phil was an upcoming star in the MLB. He was a hidden talent that had gone through many walls to get where he thought he could never be. He grew up in a time where the only sport you played in Canada was hockey. He was introduced to baseball when he went to high school and was immediately better than his peers but, the problem was that his family was so poor they couldn’t afford to pay for all the activities Phil wanted to do. He wanted to play, so he found a way. The local coach noticed his talent and tried to recruit him. It took some convincing and work to pay to play baseball. Phil had to work many random jobs to save money not only for himself, but for his family to have extra cash. Phil immediately burst onto the scene and struggled as a pitcher in this new league. He was a young man playing against men who were 15 years older than he was. He practiced relentlessly and became the best player in the league. He had to battle his way to the top and it wouldn’t be the last time he had to battle to become better and to be the best. He then worked his way all the way up to the top semi-pro team in Canada, the Toronto Maple Leaves. From there he was noticed by the Philadelphia Athletics. He soon struggled to make the jump but after a fix in his mechanics he became a star for the worst team in the MLB. After 2 years of pitching he was called upon by his country. He became a bomber in the RCAF and would go on mission after mission to help the allied forces in the war. On his last and final mission, his plane was shot down off the coast of a Norwegian fishing town. He became a prisoner of war at Stalag Luft III, the same location as the Great Escape. He would have to endure the pains that came along with being a POW. He had to go on a death march where many of his fellow soldiers would be killed by this long and brutal war. The book then goes on to explain post war for the main character and the struggles soldiers dealt with while returning to civilian life after WWII. I’d give this book a 4.5/5 rating. I really enjoyed the book and the historical accuracy. I docked it .5 points because I wish it went into more depth about being a POW and what happened there. I'd recommend this book if you like baseball and history.

[Joe Seliske]

My brother-in-law gave me a copy of this book over twenty years ago and said that I should read it. I did not read it at the time and now it is in a box in the basement - buried. I saw it at a second-hand store a few months back and recognized the title. I figured that this was an omen that I should read the book. Phil Marchildon's baseball career started when most Canadians didn't think of any other sport than hockey. He didn't even start playing baseball until he was in high school. After a series of fortunate events, he ended up pitching for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League and then was noticed by scouts from the Philadelphia Athletics (who later became the Kansas City Athletics and are now the Oakland A's). His career started out well, but was interrupted by World War II. Unfortunately during his 26th bombing mission (after 30 missions your tour is complete) he was shot down over the Baltic Sea and ended up a POW in Stalag Luft III. This was the same prison came where the Great Escape had occurred. Unfortunately, his body and mind were affected by the war and he was never the pitcher that he was before shipping out. Marchildon had to work for the immortal Connie Mack (Cornelius McGillicuddy) who was owner of the Athletics as well as general manager and field manager. Mack's incessant penny-pinching affected the outcome of the team in the standings. A good read of a time when there were only a handful of Canadians playing Major League Baseball.