When Bert Shepard, a journeyman minor league pitcher, had his right leg amputated after his fighter plane crashed in Germany, he was the only person that believed he would ever play professional baseball again. But through sheer self-belief and determination, the gutsy left-hander from Dana, Indiana taught himself to walk and then to pitch with an artificial leg -- all within the confines of a POW camp in Germany.
By February 1945, Shepard was back in the United States and determined to pitch in organized baseball. Senators' owner Clark Griffith took a look at the amputee's pitching form in spring training and offered Shepard a job as a pitching coach. On August 4, 1945, Shepard became an inspiration to all wartime amputees when he pitched five innings for the Senators against the Red Sox, fulfilling a dream that few could have imagined possible. Shepard continued playing in the minor leagues until 1954 and later worked for IBM and Hughes Aircraft as a safety engineer. (GBf)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»March 5, 1945: Bert Shepard, a one-legged veteran of the war, tries out as a pitcher for the Senators. The symbol of wartime baseball, outfielder Pete Gray of the Browns, will field and bat with only one arm.
»August 4, 1945: Tom McBride of the Boston Red Sox drives in ML-record tying six runs in the 4th inning of the 2nd game of a doubleheader against the Senators, as the Sox score 12 runs. He doubles and triples off Santiago Ullrich and Joe Cleary, each time with the bases loaded. The Sox bat around against Cleary, who gives up seven runs on five hits and three walks. Cleary, the last major leaguer born in Ireland, gets one out, on a strikeout, but this is his only ML appearance and he'll finish with a 189. ERA. The Senators then call on Bert Shepard, who remarkably pitches five 1/3 innings giving up one run on three hits. For Shepard, who was wounded in WW2 and lost a leg, this too will be his only major league appearance. The Sox win, 15–4.
»August 31, 1945: The Senators again muff a chance to go into first place, dropping a pair to the Yankees, 3–2 and 3–1. In between games, Nats pitcher Bert Shepard receives the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in WW2. Shepard lost his leg in battle.
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