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Buddy Lewis was on a path to Hall of Fame before World War II intervened. He tallied 1,069 hits before his 25th birthday. Only four players in big league history reached the 1,000-hit plateau at a younger age – Ty Cobb, Mel Ott, Al Kaline, and Freddie Lindstrom. All have a plaque in Cooperstown.

Before turning 25, Lewis ripped 172 doubles with a .306 average and a .373 on-base percentage. He was one of baseball’s rising young stars.

Then the war came.

By the time he returned to the game, Lewis missed 3 1/2 years of baseball. Just 25 years old when he left, the infielder was 14 days shy of of 29th birthday when he played his first game back.

“My good friend, Buddy Lewis left for war and missed four years of baseball,” recalled teammate George Case. “He left a dark-haired man and came back to us at the end of 1945 with a full head of white hair and some hair-raising stories.”

Things were never really the same for Lewis back on the diamond.

“When I came back from the war, my philosophy of life was completely different,” Lewis explained years later. “I had changed so much that baseball didn’t mean as much to me as it did before the war.”

In the six seasons before he enlisted, Lewis averaged 185 hits and 30 doubles. During that time from age 19 through his 25th birthday, he hit .306. He was on the path to 3,000 hits and all that comes with it.

His wartime experiences and time away from the game changed his career’s trajectory. From his return in 1945 until he retired in 1949, Lewis totaled just 451 hits 71 doubles. He retired just 51 days after his 33rd birthday. Serving his country cost Lewis his chance of attaining baseball immortality.

In the collection is this note from John Kelly “Buddy” Lewis on his personal letterhead. He writes in part, “Baseball before WW2 was everything I had ever dreamed about.”

 

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Buddy Lewis’ stellar baseball career was forever changed because of World War II. The Senators star served his country as an army pilot. He named his plane “The Old Fox”, the nickname given to Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith when he was a player.

Lewis loved Griffith who cared for him like a son.

Flying his C-47 transport plane, Lewis flew over the Hump, the treacherous stretch over the Himalayas. He nimbly managed the clunky plane.

According to Lewis’ SABR bio, fellow big leaguer Luke Sewell, who flew with Lewis said, “He set that big transport down on strips that didn’t look big enough for a mosquito to land on. And he did it while he was talking baseball to me.”

Lewis ascended to the rank of captain, flying 369 missions and earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with oak leaf cluster. He was discharged in 1945.

In the collection is a letter from Lewis who writes of Griffith, “Mr. Griffith was more like a father to me than a boss. I was still in my teens on reporting to his club, and he took me on as a project and led me through the difficult days. He was so kind and compassionate that writing this note makes me once again remember the things that I am very grateful for.”

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Clark Griffith owned the Senators during Buddy Lewis’ entire 11-year big league career. Lewis so revered Griffith that he named the C-47 he flew in WWII in honor the Washington owner.

In the collection is this letter dated November 16, 1943 signed by Griffith. During this time Lewis was flying over the Himalayas, transporting troops to thwart the Japanese war effort.

Griffith was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1946 as an executive. He also pitched and managed for 20 years each.

One of the highlights of Griffith’s playing and managerial career came in 1901. As the ace of the White Sox pitching staff, Griffith won 24 games. He also piloted the AL’s first pennant-winner as the club’s skipper.

In this letter, Griffith writes about it all.

“Yes, I managed the White Sox in 1901 when we won the pennant. The lineup of the team was Isbell, first base; Mertes, second base; Sugart shortstop; Hoffman (sic), third base; Jones, centerfield; Hoy, left field; McFarland, right field, Billy Sullivan and Joe Sugden were the catchers; and the pitchers were Patterson, Callahan, Griffith, Platt, and Katoll.”

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With today’s multi-million dollar contract, it’s hard to imagine big league players having a road roommate. That’s the way it was until late in the 1900s. When Buddy Lewis made the Senators team as a 19-year old his roommate on the road was fellow infielder Cecil Travis.

Like Lewis, Travis lost his shot at baseball immortality and the Hall of Fame due to his service to his country. The sure-handed Senator was one of the best-hitting infielders in baseball from 1933-1941. During that time he hit .327, topping the .300 mark in 8 of 9 seasons.

In ’41 when Joe DiMaggio hit in 56 straight and Ted Williams topped the .400 mark, it was Travis who led the major leagues in hits. He was on his way to the Hall of Fame.

Then the war hit.

Travis missed three full seasons and most of 1945. He was never the same once he returned. Though he played in 15 games in 1945 and all of 1946 and 1947 his numbers tailed off greatly. The war quite likely cost him a chance at Cooperstown.

In the collection is this pair of index cards filled out in the hand of Cecil Travis. Notice the inscription on the top card. It reads in part, “Hall of Fame – I do not believe my 4 yr. in WWII cost me a chance”. Statistician beg to differ.