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The Gas and Flame Men: Baseball and the Chemical Warfare Service During World War I - Hardcover
$32.95
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by Jim Leeke (Author)
When the United States officially entered World War I in 1917, it was woefully underprepared for chemical warfare, in which the British, French, and Germans had been engaged since 1915. In response, the U.S. Army created an entirely new branch: the Chemical Warfare Service. The army turned to trained chemists and engineers to lead the charge--and called on an array of others, including baseball players, to fill out the ranks.
The Gas and Flame Men is the first full account of Major League ballplayers who served in the Chemical Warfare Service during World War I. Four players, two club executives, and a manager served in the small and hastily formed branch, six of them as gas officers. Remarkably, five of the seven--Christy Mathewson, Branch Rickey, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, and Eppa "Jeptha" Rixey--are now enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. The son of a sixth Hall of Famer, player and manager Ned Hanlon, was a young officer killed in action in France with the First Gas Regiment. Prominent chemical soldiers also included veteran Major League catcher and future manager George "Gabby" Street and Boston Braves president and former Harvard football coach Percy D. Haughton. The Gas and Flame Men explores how these famous baseball men, along with an eclectic mix of polo players, collegiate baseball and football stars, professors, architects, and prominent social figures all came together in the Chemical Warfare Service. Jim Leeke examines their service and its long-term effects on their physical and mental health--and on Major League Baseball and the world of sports. The Gas and Flame Men also addresses historical inaccuracies and misperceptions surrounding Christy Mathewson's early death from tuberculosis in 1925, long attributed to wartime gas exposure.Author Biography
Jim Leeke is a former news journalist, a retired copywriter and creative director, and a U.S. Navy veteran. He is the author of several books, including The Turtle and the Dreamboat (Potomac Books, 2022), The Best Team Over There: The Untold Story of Grover Cleveland Alexander and the Great War (Nebraska, 2021), and From the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball during the Great War (Nebraska, 2017).
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Standard U.S. returns are accepted for eligible new, unopened items within 30 days of carrier delivery. Returns are by mail. Customers are responsible for standard return shipping, there is no restocking fee, and standard exchanges are not offered. Once an approved return is received and inspected, the refund is issued to the original payment method within 5 business days. Damaged, defective, or incorrect items are handled at no return-shipping cost to the customer.
Return eligibility is subject to the full policy. Opened, read, or unsealed books with broken seals or visible wear are final sale. Digital downloads, gift cards, and personalized products are non-refundable. Original shipping charges are not refunded for standard returns. Contact us within 7 days of delivery about damaged, defective, or incorrect items.
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