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Bob Feller file photo [21493]

Robert Feller

SurnameFeller
Given NameRobert
Born3 Nov 1918
Died15 Dec 2010
CountryUnited States
CategoryMilitary-Sea
GenderMale

Contributor:

ww2dbaseRobert "Bob" Feller was born in Iowa, United States in 1918 to farmer William Feller and teacher/nurse Lena Feller (née Forret). He began showing a talent for the sport of baseball at the young age of eight, and his father supported his interest by building a baseball field for him on the family farm. He became a professional baseball player in the major league (bypassing the minor leagues, which was a usual growth path for most players) in 1936, and very quickly rank among the best pitchers in the league. He heard about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while returning to his team after visiting his father in Des Moines, Iowa, United States, and within days enlisted in the United States Navy; this made him the first American professional athlete to enlist. He received basic training at Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia, United States He attempted to join naval aviation as a fighter pilot, but he was rejected after failing hearing tests. After serving as a physical instructor at Norfolk for some time, he was assigned to battleship USS Alabama, with the responsibility of gun captain and at the ultimate rating of Chief Petty Officer. After some time in Britain, USS Alabama was shifted to the Pacific Ocean in Aug 1943. Aboard USS Alabama, Feller saw action in the Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, and in the Philippine Sea. He returned to the United States in Jan 1945, where he would serve as an instructor at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in North Chicago, Illinois, United States until the end of the war. He was discharged from the US Navy on 22 Aug 1945, and returned to professional baseball two days later. He would go on to have a distinguished career in baseball, and he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1962. Feller passed away from leukemia in 2010.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia

Last Major Revision: Aug 2014

Robert Feller Interactive Map

Photographs

Portrait of Bob Feller, 1940sBob Feller posing before a 40mm Bofors quad mount aboard a ship, possibly USS Alabama, 3 May 1943
See all 4 photographs of Robert Feller

Robert Feller Timeline

3 Nov 1918 Bob Feller was born in Van Meter, Iowa, United States.
19 Jul 1936 Bob Feller made his Major League Baseball debut.
9 Dec 1941 Bob Feller enlisted in the United States Navy.
22 Aug 1945 Bob Feller was discharged from the US Navy.
24 Aug 1945 The city of Cleveland, Ohio, United States honored Bob Feller with a parade; hours later, he played in his first professional post-WW2 baseball game.
8 Dec 2010 Bob Feller, sick with leukemia and other ailments, was transferred from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, United States to hospice care.
15 Dec 2010 Bob Feller passed away from leukemia in Cleveland, Ohio, United States.




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More on Robert Feller
Event(s) Participated:
» Gilbert Islands Campaign
» Marshall Islands Campaign
» Mariana Islands Campaign and the Great Turkey Shoot

Ship(s) Served:
» Alabama

Robert Feller Photo Gallery
Portrait of Bob Feller, 1940sBob Feller posing before a 40mm Bofors quad mount aboard a ship, possibly USS Alabama, 3 May 1943
See all 4 photographs of Robert Feller


Famous WW2 Quote
"Goddam it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!"

Captain Henry P. Jim Crowe, Guadalcanal, 13 Jan 1943


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