Ted Williams in Full. (2024)

From the Wall Street Journal 15, July 2009.

So I'm talking with a friend of mine and he said Ted Williams tried to dodge the draft -- I don't think they put that in this documentary. What are the facts?

Great show - complicated man.

The show addresses the "draft dodger" label. And I think it pretty much debunks it.

I read the latest DiMaggio biography (published in about 2000). There's a little bit of inconsistency in that book compared to this show's description of their relatsionship. This show makes it sound better than the book...not by a lot, but some.

I enjoyed the show a lot. Although I'm not a Pete Rose fan, I'd like to see one of these on him too.

So did he not try to get out of going to WWII? I know he was drafted both times. I think my friend assumed that because he did not automatically sign-up like Bob Feller he was trying to avoid going.

I would like to prove him wrong, but I guess it is matter of opinion. If your signing up to fight vs. drafted.

Its presented as a matter of opinion...Bob Feller's opinion mostly. Bob says he doesn't think Williams was a draft dodger. Williams played one more year due to a legal exception (sole provider for his mother...although he hadn't seen her in a couple of years). He then joined and served out the war as a flight instructor after that season.

And then he flew combat in Korea as mentioned.

Yes, he was called a "draft dodger" by some at the time...the label has stuck in some circles...but I think looking at it with no bias (I don't have any), it seems untrue to me.

quote:

Originally posted by Dad04:
I've met Bob Feller. I've seen numerous interviews of Bob Feller. He still complains to this day of the signing bonus he got when he turned pro. The word bitter comes to mind.

I too remain bitter about the signing bonus I got 29 years ago. ZERO! I shoulda held out.

quote:

Originally posted by Dad04:
I've met Bob Feller. I've seen numerous interviews of Bob Feller. He still complains to this day of the signing bonus he got when he turned pro. The word bitter comes to mind.

Perhaps but he is an old man now and maybe he just feels like complaining about it for no real reason other than to have something to complain about

He was one of the greatest pitchers of all-time imho. He gave up the four prime years of his life to serve. The year he came back from the service, he won 28 games. The first contract he signed was when he was still in 11th grade. How many kids these days (or ever) are ready to pitch in the big leagues in 11th grade? He is entitled to his complaints which aren't that big of deal imho. His biggest beef has been with Pete Rose. Those two are not the best of friends

Ted Williams was a hitting genius. The results speak for themselves.

quote:

Originally posted by justbaseball:
Whats his beef with Rose? Same stuff as me?

Feller is adamant that Rose never be inducted into the hall of fame. Here is one quick anecdote I found on the Internet but there are other incidents where they have publicly feuded:

quote:

It was an up-and-down week for Cincinnati Reds announcer Marty Brennaman, newly elected to the Hall of Fame, and Johnny Bench, the Reds' Hall of Fame catcher.

The two were radio partners in Cincinnati for "Bench and Brennaman on Baseball," a five-minute spot that aired mornings on WLW-AM (700), but Brennaman's induction speech at ceremonies in Cooperstown, N.Y., on July 23 sparked a seemingly irreconcilable split.

The night before the ceremonies, Bench approached his partner and said that several old-timers, led by the cantankerous Bob Feller, would walk out if Brennaman endorsed Pete Rose's inclusion in the hall during his speech. (Rose, who became ineligible for election when he was banned from the game in 1989 for gambling, is campaigning for reinstatement.)

As a Reds fan, I used to think he (Rose) should be in the HOF although I was not a fan of Rose at all. Purely based on the hits record, I thought.

I've changed my mind. Don't want him in. I'm with Feller.

Feller was a great pitcher and served his country in time of war.

Williams was a great hitter and served his country in time of war.

Neither was a draft dodger. Both gave up enormously important years in their professional lives to defend our nation. I just don't get the "draft dodger" stuff. Williams nearly gave his life, for Heaven's sake.

Feller, one of the all-time greats, is bitter. What a wasted life after baseball. Instead of being happy with the gifts with which he was blessed, he chose to pick fights for no real purpose. Too bad.