Bob Feller: A real American hero
When you are in the presence of greatness, it is undeniable.
It is at least humbling and at last mesmerizing.
And always a gift.
I had that good fortune on Opening Day 2010 on the South Side, when I stumbled upon Hall of Famer Bob Feller, who was at the ballpark celebrating the 70th anniversary of his opening-day no-hitter against the White Sox at Comiskey Park.
He was 91 at the time and sharp as a tack, able to recount instantly some of the finest moments of his career, taking time to speak to me about his amazing life while signing autographs for scores of young men and women from Great Lakes Naval Station.
For me, it was one of the highlights of the baseball season.
As you probably know, Mr. Feller died last week from leukemia at 92.
In eulogy after eulogy, men spoke with reverence of his ferocity and fastball.
He was correctly referred to as one of the best pitchers in baseball history, sometimes called the hardest thrower of all time, but he also was a genuine American hero, a member of the Greatest Generation that served his country during World War II.
Feller told me in April that he loved pitching, but he was most proud that he joined the Navy the day after Pearl Harbor, something he said was bigger than any no-hitter he ever threw and he tossed 3 of them.
He also threw 12 1-hitters, tied for most all time with Nolan Ryan. He won 266 games with six 20-win seasons, despite leaving the game at the age of 22 to join the fight after a 1941 season in which he went 25-13 in 40 starts with 28 complete games in 343 innings.
“That's what we all did,'' Feller said of enlisting. “I don't know anyone that didn't volunteer.''
Feller became the second major-league player to enlist in the armed forces after Hank Greenberg, and he spent the next four years fighting for his country.
“I was stationed on the battleship Alabama,'' Feller said with pride, sounding more like John Wayne than even his reputation had suggested. “We spent three years in the Atlantic and then went to the Pacific.''
Feller was a Gun Captain, decorated with five campaign ribbons and eight battle stars, but he wouldn't have it when asked about being a hero of World War II.
“Heroes don't come back,'' Feller insisted. “Those of us that returned are survivors. You shouldn't think of me as a hero.''
As he signed for the wide-eyed recruits from Great Lakes, Feller recalled with joy pitching for the Navy against the Cubs when he returned from the Pacific.
“I'll bet you didn't know that when I was in the service, I pitched for Great Lakes and managed the team in 1945,'' Feller said. “We beat every major-league team that came in, including the Cubs, who won the pennant that year, and I shut them out.
“I had the best baseball team in the country.''
Obviously, Feller hadn't lost much during his time away, and when the war was over he went right to Cleveland and started nine games at the end of the 1945 season.
As if he hadn't taken four years off, in 1946 Feller at 27 merely set a record for strikeouts with 348, while also leading the league in wins (25), starts (42), complete games (36), shutouts (10) and innings (371).
He won 19 games for Cleveland when the Indians won the World Series in 1948, and retired in 1956 after pitching 18 years in the big leagues.
Straight off a farm in Van Meter, Iowa, “Bullet Bob'' reached the majors at 17 years old in 1936 having never been to the minors. He struck out 15 in his first start.
At 17 he had a 17-strikeout game, the first man ever to strikeout his age, a feat duplicated by Kerry Wood 62 years later when Wood fanned 20.
Two years later Feller had an 18-strikeout game, the first of the 20th century.
He threw the only opening- day no-hitter in MLB history.
He led the league in wins six times. Only one pitcher in history (Warren Spahn) has ever done it more.
He led the league in innings pitched five times, second most to Grover Cleveland Alexander.
He led the league in strikeouts seven times (fourth most), in games started five times (fourth most), and in shutouts four times (sixth most).
He won the pitching Triple Crown in 1940 with 27 wins, 261 strikeouts and a 2.61 ERA, also leading in complete games (31) and innings (320).
Feller finished in the top eight in MVP voting six times, and in 1962 he received 94 percent of the vote for the Hall of Fame, along with Jackie Robinson the first players ever to get in on the first ballot from the writers since the inaugural class in 1936.
His was the fourth-highest percentage ever at the time, trailing only Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and Honus Wagner, all members of the first class.
Known as “Rapid Robert'' or “The Heater from Van Meter,'' Feller told the story of having tested his fastball against a speeding motorcycle in Lincoln Park in 1940 while wearing street clothes.
He said they determined he had thrown 104 mph. Feller believes he threw harder, and that no one's ever thrown harder than he did before the war including Nolan Ryan.
“That was only part of it,'' Feller said. “My curve took all the fight out of a hitter.''
It was Feller who asked into the fight after Pearl Harbor, and at Chief Petty Officer he reached the top promotion possible for enlisted Naval personnel at the time.
His bunk is marked on the Alabama at Battleship Memorial Park in Mobile.
He is the only Chief Petty Officer in the Hall of Fame.
His place in baseball history is secure, but his standing among veterans is certain.
“I wanted to go,'' Feller said. “I didn't feel it was my duty. I felt it was my right.''
Bob Feller didn't want to be called a hero. Here's hoping it wouldn't offend him if we thought so anyway.
brozner@dailyherald.com