Tuesday's P.M. Hot Clicks: Athletes Who Served in the Military

Athletes Who Served in the Military

Athletes Who Served in the Military

Rocky Bleier

Heinz Kluetmeier; Larry Burrows

A 14th-round pick out of Notre Dame in 1968, Bleier had been drafted into the Army December of that year, after his rookie season, and was sent to Vietnam in May 1969. Bleier recovered from gunshot and grenade injuries for which he received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, and returned to the Steelers after his service. After several seasons fighting for a roster spot, he became a starter in 1974 and went on to win four Super Bowl rings with Pittsburgh, playing in the backfield alongside Franco Harris.

Ted Williams

AP

"Teddy Ballgame" entered active duty with the Navy in 1943, one year after winning the AL Triple Crown. Williams served three years and was certified as a Naval Aviator in 1944. Eight year later, at the age of 33, Williams was recalled to active duty for service in the Korean War, where he flew 39 combat missions. The Red Sox great hit 521 home runs and had a lifetime .344 batting average.

Yogi Berra

John Rooney/AP

The Hall of Fame Yankee catcher didn't play major league baseball in 1944 or 1945 due to his time in the Navy, when he served as a gunner's mate during the D-Day invasion. Once he got to the big leagues, though, he had a fruitful career spanning 19 years, including 18 All-Star game selections and 13 World Series championships.

Joe DiMaggio

U.S. Army Air Force/AP

Two years after his record 56-game hitting streak, DiMaggio enlisted in the Army Air Forces in 1943, and rose to the rank of sergeant. The star Yankees outfielder never saw combat, and was released on medical discharge in 1945.

Bob Feller

AP

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Feller became the first American professional athlete to volunteer for combat. Although he had been granted an exemption, Feller requested that he serve in combat missions. He was assigned to the USS Alabama, where he served as Gun Captain. Upon returning to baseball in 1946, Feller pitched 11 more seasons and made four more All-Star games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962.

Whitey Ford

AP

After a debut season in which he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, Ford missed the 1951 and 1952 seasons while serving in the Army during the Korean War. Once he returned to baseball, the star Yankee pitcher picked up where he left off, making 10 All-Star games, winning six World Series and winning the 1961 Cy Young.

Joe Louis

Keystone/Getty Images

In the middle of his 140-month reign as World Heavyweight Champion, Louis voluntarily enlisted in the Army. Although Louis was originally assigned to a cavalry unit, the Army eventually placed him in the Special Services Division -- ensuring he would not see combat action -- in an effort to raise troop morale. Louis went on a celebrity tour along with fellow boxer Sugar Ray Robinson and staged boxing exhibitions around the world for his fellow soldiers. Louis was awarded the rare Legion of Merit in 1945, which qualified him for immediate release from the military.

Roger Staubach

Neil Leifer

Staubach won the Heisman trophy in 1963 as the quarterback at the Naval Academy. Although he was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, he still had to perform his required post-graduation service time. Staubach served in the Navy Supply Corps from 1964 to 1968, which included a tour of duty in Vietnam. After his service, Staubach joined the Cowboys and led them to two Super Bowl victories, in 1972 and 1978.

Willie Mays

AP

Mays was drafted in 1952 and assigned to Fort Eustis in Virgina, which caused him to miss the remainder of that year and the entire 1953 season. Like many athletes, Mays primarily participated in exhibitions for morale and publicity purposes. Mays played for 20 years and hit 636 home runs after he returned to baseball in 1954. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979.

Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto, and Hugh Casey

AP

Reese, Rizzuto and Casey served three years in the Navy, from 1943 to '45, and saw combat in the Pacific Theater. Reese, most known for his support of and friendship with Jackie Robinson, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984 on a vote from the Veterans' Committee. Rizzuto was inducted in '94.

Jackie Robinson

AP

Five years before breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947, Robinson was drafted into the Army. Robinson eventually joined the 761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion. Like his professional baseball career, his military service was marked by incidents of racial discrimination. Robinson was honorably discharged in 1944. Although his 761st battalion was the first black tank unit to see combat, Robinson was never deployed overseas.

Bob Kalsu

Courtesy of Jan Kalsu-McLauchlin

Kalsu was an All-America tackle at Oklahoma before being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1968. After playing his rookie season, he enlisted in the army as a Second Lieutenant and arrived in Vietnam in 1969. He was killed in action on July 21, 1970. Kalsu was the only active professional football player to lose his life in Vietnam.

Pat Tillman

Gene Lower/Slingshot; Courtesy of the Tillman Family

Tillman stands as the most famous example of a 21st century athlete giving up his playing career for military service. The former Cardinals safety enlisted in the Army Rangers with his brother Kevin in 2002. On Tillman's second tour of duty, in Afghanistan, he was killed in a friendly fire incident. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart, among several other military honors.

Ahmard Hall

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Hall took an unusual path to professional football. He wasn't recruited heavily by colleges out of high school, so he enlisted in the Marine Corps. He rose to the rank of sergeant, and saw time in Kosovo and Afghanistan. After he processed out, Hall attended the University of Texas on the G.I. Bill and walked on to the football team, where he became an effective starter. After graduating, he went undrafted, but the Tennessee Titans signed him as a free agent. Over his six-year career, Hall garnered 24 rushing attempts and 73 receptions, while blocking for three 1,000-yard running backs.

David Robinson

Bill Ballenberg

Robinson starred at the Naval Academy, winning college basketball's highest honors, the Wooden and Naismith awards, his senior year. The San Antonio Spurs selected him with the first overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft, but Robinson had to perform his two years active-duty service before he could join the team. After graduating, Robinson became a civil engineering officer at the Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia. Robinson went on to an illustrious NBA career that saw him win two championships, one MVP and make the All-Star game 10 times.

John Wooden

Alison Wise/AP

The Wizard of Westwood served in the Navy during World War II as a physical education instructor. His aptitude for teaching stuck with him as he became one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time. His UCLA teams won 10 national championships, including seven in a row.

Tom Seaver

Wendell Teodoro/WireImage

Seaver joined the Marine Corps Reserves after high school, at age 18. He served a six-month active duty stretch before moving on to a city college, USC and the major leagues. In 20 seasons with the Mets, Reds, White Sox and Red Sox, Seaver won 311 games and threw an incredible 231 complete games.

Nolan Ryan

Rick Yeatts/Getty Images

Ryan, one of the greatest pitchers of all time, missed the 1967 season with the New York Mets due to service with the Army Reserve. He was back in 1968 and made it through his first full major league season. He went on to have a Hall of Fame career, in which he made eight All-Star teams, won one World Series and retired as MLB's all-time strikeouts leader.

Tom Landry

Neil Leifer

The legendary Cowboys coach served in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945, and rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant. During his enlistment, Landry completed 30 combat missions and survived a crash landing in Belgium. After the war, Landry went on to play football for the University of Texas and the New York Giants, before coaching the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl victories over 29 years.

Larry Doby

AP

Doby served in the Navy from 1944 to '46 and saw combat in the Pacific theater. After his discharge, he broke the American League's color barrier when he signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1947. The Hall of Fame outfielder played 13 major league seasons and hit 254 home runs.

Roberto Clemente

AP

In the winter before the 1959 season, Clemente enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve and served his six-month active duty commitment at bases in South Carolina, North Carolina and Washington, D.C. The 15-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1973.

Ty Cobb

Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

Cobb served in the Army Chemical Corps in France in 1918. Other baseball players in that division included Christy Mathewson and George Sisler. After being honorably discharged, Cobb played for 10 more seasons, before being inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936.

Christy Mathewson

Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images

In 1918, Mathewson enlisted in the Army Chemical Corps at 38. During a training exercise, he was accidentally exposed to poisonous gas and subsequently discharged. He struggled with health problems for the rest of his life, before dying at 45 in 1925. The 373-game winner was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1936.

Mike Anderson

Kevin Higley/AP

After high school, Anderson served four years in the Marine Corps. It was there that an assistant coach at Mt. San Jacinto, a junior college, noticed Bell playing touch football. After two years of JUCO, Bell played for the University of Utah, where he was a two-time all-conference player. The Denver Broncos drafted him in the sixth round, and Anderson rewarded them with a 1,487-yard, Offensive Rookie of the Year season.

Bill Bradley

Neil Leifer

Bradley served six months in the Air Force Reserves before joining the New York Knicks in 1967. Bradley's 10-year career included two Knicks championships and one All-Star game appearance. After retiring, Bradley served three terms as a senator representing New Jersey.

Bill Sharman

Hy Peskin

Sharman served in the Navy during World War II, from 1944 to '46. In the NBA with the Boston Celtics, Sharman made eight All-Star game appearances and won four titles. He teamed with Bob Cousy to form one of the league's best backcourts.

It's Veteran's Day and I can't think of anything more appropriate with which to lead Hot Clicks than this gallery of athletes who served in the military. After that, be sure to read about these three athlete veterans and their amazing stories.

If You Can't Win ... Cheat

I'm not sure what to make of Tabatha Hamilton, the winner of Sunday’s Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon, who was disqualified for cheating. On one hand, I'm impressed by her chutzpah—technology has made cheating at anything in 2014 nearly impossible. On the other hand, I'm dumbfounded that she wasn't more careful; her second-half time of 49 minutes for 13.1 miles destroyed the world record of 58 minutes. She could've been a tad less ... obvious. Not to be outdone, Thailand's Vanessa-Mae, who made her Olympic debut in Sochi this year at the age of 35, has been banned from competitive alpine skiing for four years for fixing races.

History of Leonardo DiCaprio & Sports

As I mentioned in today's edition of A.M. Hot Clicks, Leonardo DiCaprio turns 40 today. To celebrate, we compiled this brief history of the actor and sports.

P.M. Lovely Lady of the Day

The U.S. Marine Corps celebrated its 239th birthday on Monday, and as Jim from Kennewick, Wash., says, this is the perfect time to feature former Marine Shannon Ihrke (click here for full-size gallery) ... Models in military uniforms ... Our good friend Anastasia Ashley is in the latest issue of Esquire.

Hot Clicks Giveaway: I Am Ali

Paging all Muhammad Ali fans. I Am Ali is an intimate and heartwarming look at the legendary athlete, beloved father, humanitarian and activist as he has never been seen before. With exclusive access to Ali’s personal archive of “audio journals,” the film features touching interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends along with legends of the boxing community. And as luck would have it, I Am Ali was released on Blu-ray & DVD today, so be sure to get your copy. Or hope you're lucky. I'll send Blu-ray copies to the 20th, 40th, 60th, 80th and 100th emailers who can tell me (via email at andy_gray@simail.com) which team that trolled itself on Twitter last night. The answer was in A.M. Hot Clicks. Please make the subject line "I Am Ali."

Update (8:48 a.m.): Contest is closed. Winners have been notified. Thanks for playing.

Help a Veteran

Dolph Ziggler had a great Instagram post this morning connecting Robin Thicke's promiscuity to Veteran's Day. Ziggler's main point is that we need to appreciate our veterans more. Here's a great way to do it: Donate money to the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. The group has already pioneered historic changes, like the Post-9/11 GI Bill, VA funding reforms, the VOW to Hire Heroes Act and more. If you have $5 or $10 laying around in your checking account, be a good person and donate.

This Week's (National) SI Cover

This Week's (Regional) SI Cover 

Caroline Wozniacki Goes Hot Tubbing

Mark Sanchez Celebrates a Victory

Good Read of the Day

If you have a few minutes (20 to 30, I'd estimate), this profile of Army point guard Max Lenox is well worth your time. Lenox was born to a crack-addicted black mother and raised by two white gay fathers, both of whom helped shape him into the much-admired captain of the Black Knights.

Odds & Ends

Extra Mustard's review of Monday Night RAW ... This man went 207 mph (a world record) on a rocket-powered bicycle ... Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin is not a Geno Smith fan ... Maria Sharapova seems to have her new boyfriend wrapped around her finger ... Enjoyed this history of rap in wrestling, courtesy of Complex ... Manny Ramirez is currently playing in the Domincan League and has no plans to retire ... Tim Hardaway Jr. may want to step away from Twitter for a while ... LeBron James recorded a shady triple-double last night ... This six-foot robot does a good Daniel LaRusso imitation ... Is TV exploiting Veteran's Day?

Inside the NFL's Replay Center

Behind-the-scenes at the NFL's New York-based replay center.

Randy Moss Meets Deion Sanders

Randy Moss discussed the first time he met Deion Sanders, and the animators at Fox Sports took it from there.

I Am Ali

Not sure whether to enter today's giveaway? Maybe this excerpt will convince you.

Music Video of the Day

Since I mentioned the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon, it'd be a waste not to link to one of my favorite songs in the world. Here's the 1994 music video for Uncle Tupelo's "Chickamauga."

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