4. Bob Feller
Another incredible sportsman who was a war hero is Bob Feller. He played in the Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians for no less than 18 seasons.
His successful career gave him quite a few nicknames, such as “Bullet Bob”, “Rapid Robert”, and “The Heater from Van Meter”. Feller decided to put a hold on his career as a pitcher at the start of World War II and enlisted himself in the Navy.
He was very good in the army as well, which made him receive the title of Navy Chief Petty Officer. Feller participated in some of the most popular and dangerous battles in the Pacific and showed everyone how brave he was.
5. Warren Spahn
The fifth iconic sportsman on our list is Warren Spahn, a man who had no less than 363 victories over the span of his 21-year baseball playing career. He is the proud owner of the huge league record for most career successes won by a left-handed pitcher and also the most by a pitcher who played during his whole career after the 1920 live-ball era.
He chose to enroll in the military service in the United States Army during World War II. He did it after he finished the 1942 season in the minors. Given the fact that he was very courageous and heroic, he received a Purple Heart.
Spahn participated in the Battle of the Bulge and at the Ludendorff Bridge as a combat engineer and he showed the world that he was fearless. He received a battlefield commission for his several brave acts.
He returned to the major leagues shortly after the war was over, in 1946. He was 25 years old then and he missed three full seasons. However, baseball was his career and he was a pitcher until he was 44 years old.
….Did you know about any of these iconic sportsmen who were war heroes as well? Tell us in the comments down below!
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2 thoughts on “5 Iconic Sportsmen Who Were War Heroes”
You left out Ted Williams (The splendid splinter) who served in WW11 as well as the Korean Conflict. He lost out on about three or more years of his best productive years.
Just because they served in the military does not make them heroes. We thank them for their service and appreciate their devotion to duty and country, but in order to be a hero, you must do something heroic. Otherwise, every person who has ever donned a military uniform is a hero, and that is just no so. Please let’s cut the hyperbole and save the title for the real heroes of the armed services, those who put their lives on the line to save their fellow man. Not every soldier can be an Audie Murphy, who won every medal possible–including the Medal of Honor–but that man was a hero. So were countless others, but let’s not dilute the true meaning of the word hero by applying it to everyone.