Baseball and Battlefields - 34th Infantry Division

Servicemen of the 34th Infantry Division were among the first troops to arrive in the European Theater of Operations in World War II. From training camps in Northern Ireland they were soon faced with the horrors of war in North Africa and Italy.

Up to 120,000 American servicemen were stationed in Northern Ireland during World War II, and with the Americans came American culture, from bubble gum and candy to big bands and, of course, baseball.

The first troops to arrive in Northern Ireland was a contingent of 4,058 men of the 34th Infantry Division on January 26 th 1942. These proud young men from the Midwestern United States were followed in May 1942 by the 1st Armored Division from Fort Knox, Kentucky, with tanks and armored vehicles never before seen in this small part of the United Kingdom. 

By June 1942 more than 41,205 American military personnel were stationed in Northern Ireland. The build-up was an impressive display of American efficiency, but one obstacle, unforeseen by military high command, was causing a dilemma. 

In a country where similarities with home seemed to end with the language, troops became desperately homesick. Daily training left them restless, agitated and suffering low morale. Something was needed to prevent the worsening of an already difficult situation. 

It was evident that a competitive sports program could help improve matters, and team games of basketball and soccer, combined with track and boxing, went a long way to make amends. But America 's national pastime – baseball – had by far the greatest impact on morale. 

The first recorded baseball game took place near Belfast on Saturday, April 25, 1942. Despite overcast, blustery conditions, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, attracted an inquisitive crowd of more than 1,000 locals who were treated to a play-by-play account over a public address system, a concert by the regiment band, and an impromptu jitterbug demonstration on the sidelines. 

Bob Lange

Major General Russell P. Hartle, acting commander of the US Army Northern Ireland Force (USANIF), was invited to throw out the first pitch, and with all the fanfare of a major league opening day, baseball had arrived in Northern Ireland. Pitching for the winning 3rd Battalion in the 14-4 game was Corporal Robert Lange of Wilton Junction, Iowa, a 21-year-old right-hander who was a member of the Cleveland Indians' farm system and had an 8-4 won-loss record with the Flint Arrows of the Michigan State League in 1940. In the sixth inning, Corporal Leo J. Robinson, a 24-year-old outfielder from Harper's Ferry, Iowa, hit a solo home run for the winning team. It was the first home run hit in Europe by an American serviceman in World War II. “[Robinson] was well known as a semi-professional player prior to World War II,” explains his son, Stephen L. Robinson. “He was an outstanding hitter and pitcher in high school and was offered a professional contract from the Crookston, Minnesota, baseball team of the Northern League in 1936, but he turned it down because the family was suffering greatly as a result of the Depression and he could make more money working in the Civilian Conservation Corps.” 

Neither team had uniforms, equipment was scarce, and a soccer field, without a backstop or pitcher's mound, served as a diamond for the afternoon. But baseball had arrived, and the troops welcomed it with open arms. With the Army Air Force based at the Combat Crew Replacement Unit at Greencastle in County Down and the Langford Lodge Base Air Depot in Antrim, the Navy at the United States Naval Operations Base (USNOB) in Londonderry, and the Army scattered throughout the island, battalion-level baseball soon flourished on the Emerald Isle. 

In July 1942, 34th Infantry and 1st Armored division all-stars teams were selected to participate in Northern Ireland's first officially recognized baseball game of World War II. Staged at Windsor Park, a soccer stadium in Belfast, and a part of the Anglo-American Independence Day celebrations, the local government and American military pulled out all the stops to put on a July 4 spectacle. 

Representing the 34th Infantry Division were the Midwest Giants while the 1st Armored Division were represented by the Kentucky Wildcats. It would appear that the Kentucky Wildcats nickname was chosen because the original player line-up featured troops who were predominantly from that state. Indeed, a pre-game press cutting listed the southern-state players. However, for reasons unknown, but probably because the originally selected players were with a military unit that was otherwise indisposed, the Kentucky Wildcats were represented by players mainly from New York and the east coast. 

Midwest Giants (34th Infantry Division) 
Sgt. Robert “Bob” Lange (P) Wilton Junction, IA - Cleveland Indians' organization 
Pvt. Vernon Kohler (P) Cincinnati, OH - Cleveland Indians' organization 
Cpl. Donald Shelton (P) Webster City, IA - Pittsburgh Pirates' organization 
Pfc. Orlando Langenfeld (C) Earling, IA - Earling Independents semi-pro 
Pvt. John Hetcher (C) Yonkers, NY 
Pvt. Harold Flood (1B) Cedar Rapids, IA 
Sgt. Erwin “Ed” Gangnath (1B) Minneapolis, MN 
Pvt. Victor Saltzgaver (2B) Kansas City, MO - nephew of major leaguer Jack Saltzgaver
Pvt. Lester Zabel (2B) Davenport, IA - Eldridge Merchants semi-pro 
Pvt. Daniel Leninger (3B) Minneapolis, MN 
Pvt. Richard Olliges (3B) St. Louis, MO - Emmett Athletic Club 
Pvt. George Zwilling (SS) Cincinnati, OH - Cincinnati Reds' organization
Sgt. George Luke (SS) Dubuque, IA 
Pvt. Francis Tofanelli (LF) Davenport, IA - St. Ambrose University 
Pvt. Wayne Gaddis (LF) Waterloo, IA 
Pvt. Edward “Red” Orgell (CF) Eldora, IA 
Sgt. Robert Burns (CF) LeMars, IA 
Pvt. John Rooney (RF) Elgin, IA 
Pvt. Leo J. Robinson (RF) Harper's Ferry, IA - Waukon Junior College 

Kentucky Wildcats (1 st Armored Division) 
Pvt. Troy S. Needham (P) Scranton, AR - Boston Red Sox organization 
Gordon (C) 
Pvt. Paul Dowd (1B) Livingston, NJ 
Cpl. Ed Hector (2B) Orange, NJ 
Pvt. John Kratochwil (3B) Long Island, NY - Long Island semi-pro 
Pvt. Tom Cassidy (SS) New York, NY 
Frazier (LF) 
Pvt. Sheldon Bowen (CF) Harrisville, NY - Harrisville semi-pro 
Sgt. Laurence Crusie (RF) Covington, KY 
Andriola (PH) 

34th Infantry Division Midwest Giants

The Giants' line-up included Cleveland minor league pitcher Bob Lange and another fellow Indians' farm system hurler, Private Vernon Kohler. Kohler had an exceptional season with the Flint Arrows in the Michigan State League in 1940, with an 18-5 won-loss record that earned him a trip to spring training with the Indians in 1941. Catcher, Sergeant Orlando Langenfeld and second baseman Private Lester Zabel were talented semi-pro players and home-run-hitting Leo Robinson was in right field. 

The Wildcats were relying on the pitching talents of Private Troy Needham, a 29-year-old left-hander who had spent time in the Boston Red Sox farm system; hard-hitting semi-pro third baseman John Kratochwil; and Sheldon Bowen, a semi-pro center fielder and lead-off hitter. 

On a fine, clear afternoon, an enthusiastic crowd, including Northern Ireland's Governor General (the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn), Prime Minister John W. Andrews and members of the Cabinet and Government, were among 7,500 spectators at Windsor Park. 

Stars and Stripes July 11, 1942 

GIANT SUBSTITUTES DEFEAT KENTUCKY WILDCATS, 3 TO 2 

"The first team couldn't do the job, so they sent in the subs. The subs did it. 

"That's the story of the 3 to 2 victory the Mid-West Giants scored over the Kentucky Wildcats in an Independence Day baseball game played in Belfast before an enthusiastic, albeit somewhat bewildered, crowd of more than 7,500 fans, most of them civilians who had never before seen a sample of the great American National Pastime. 

"The Giants were trailing by a 2 to 1 score, going into the last half of the eighth inning. Then the new team, which had taken over at the start of the seventh frame, took the situation into hand and blasted across the tying and winning runs. 

"During the two hours and seven minutes which the game lasted, the spectators were treated to a pitchers' battle, featured by some spectacular (and some sloppy) fielding, and a bit of clever base running." 

It was John Kratochwil's double in the third inning, scoring Sheldon Bowen, that opened the scoring for the Wildcats. Kratochwil also scored that inning, but the Giants pulled a run back in the sixth and added a further two runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 3-2 lead. In the final inning, Giants' relief pitcher Corporal Donald Shelton, a big, raw-boned high school star, pitching in relief of Lange and Kohler, forced the first two batters to ground out and then retired the third on an easy fly to the shortstop to preserve the win. 

There was no pitcher's mound at Windsor Park ; base runners had to skillfully avoid colliding with a soccer goal post down the first base line, and spectators gathered dangerously close to home plate, oblivious to the possible danger they faced. But the game was a success with both the public and military and paved the way for many further exhibition games over the following years. 

Baseball at Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 4, 1942.

Leo Robinson later described the day in a letter to his parents. 

[I] was given time off to play baseball in Belfast the 4th of July. Had a very good time. Had a crowd of about 10,000 people. Even met some royalty as the ball team met and shook hands with the Duke of Abercorn. Had a great time after the game, signing autographs. Made us feel as if we were somebody. 

The Duke of Abercorn, who was to become a familiar sight at exhibition baseball games, obviously enjoyed the festivities that afternoon. One member of the Midwest Giants recalls, “The duke had a few too many tipped cups of good old Irish brew and had to be escorted from the stadium after the third inning looking a little worse for wear!” 

At the end of 1942, both the 34th Infantry Division and 1st Armored Division left Northern Ireland and were soon in the heat of battle against Rommel's Afrika Korps in Tunisia. For many of the troops, the summer of 1942 held the last fond memories of the war. George Zwilling and Vic Saltzgaver both died in North Africa in 1943. Bob Burns died in Italy the same year and Don Shelton lost his life in Italy in 1944. Leo Robinson suffered serious shrapnel wounds to his legs that left him unable to run for the rest of his life, and Orlando Langenfeld was badly wounded by artillery shrapnel. Wildcats' center fielder Sheldon Bowen was wounded during an air attack in Belgium in 1944. His left arm suffered shrapnel wounds that required bone grafts, tendon transplants, and 16 months of hospitalization. He never regained full use of his left arm but still played baseball with local teams in Harrisville, New York. 

After missing four seasons and being faced with the death and destruction of war, Bob Lange made a brief return to minor league baseball in 1946, as did Vern Kohler and Troy Needham. Lange was 0-3 in four appearances with the Northern League's Fargo-Moorhead Twins, while Kohler retired during spring training. Needham made seven appearances for the East Texas League's Sherman Twins and was 1-4.

Despite horrific injuries, Troy Needham
continued to play baseball after the war.