World War II Chronicle: July 11, 1943
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The invasion of Sicily, launched early yesterday, seems to be going well. President Roosevelt visited Arlington National Cemetery for Armistice Day ceremonies (see page five)… In the air, Capt. Robert E. Anderson Jr. of the 4th Fighter Squadron has bagged his fourth (and final) victory of the war — a German Junkers Ju-88 reconnaissance plane. But the Junkers shot him down too. Anderson bails out at 35,000 feet, then comes to at 10,000 and ends up in the same hospital as the German crew that shot him down…
Sports on page 25, which reports that St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Howie Pollett has played in his last game (a four-hit shutout of the Braves) before leaving for war. Today’s front page announces that he will report to the Army Air Force for training as an aviation cadet. Despite not pitching after the All-Star Break he has put in enough games that his ERA of 1.75 tops National League in 1943. Pollett becomes an aviation cadet, but isn’t as effective with a machine gun as he is with a fastball so the military decides his place is on the mound after Pollett washes out of gunnery training. He wins 11 games in 1944 for the San Antonio Aviation Cadet Center, where he is reunited with former teammate Enos Slaughter…
Yesterday’s paper mentioned the Brooklyn Dodgers had a bit of a revolt against skipper Leo Durocher after the skipper suspended pitcher Bobo Newsom. Many of the Dodgers refused to take the field, but were talked into it and the game started 10 minutes late. But once they took the field they pounded Pittsburgh 23-6. Brooklyn had scored 10 runs and the Pirates were on their third pitcher by the time the first inning was over. They added another 10-run inning in the fourth. Second baseman Billy Herman drove in seven runs and scored twice himself…
On page 26: veteran pitcher Hal Schumacher, formerly with the New York Giants will pitch and manage the Lambert Field Naval Air Station’s ball club in St. Louis. His catcher will be former Cub Bob Scheffing… A 30-year-old rookie named Guy Cartright is leading the big leagues in batting. Cartright played over 1,000 games in the minor leagues before getting promoted this season and went on a 26-game hitting streak that just ended on July 1… Baylor coach Frank Kimbrough, brother of former Texas A&M All-American John Kimbrough, is taking over the head coaching job at North Carolina Pre-Flight from Lt. Cmdr. Sleepy Jim Crowley, who is now serving in the Pacific… Former Redskin coach Ray Flaherty, now a Navy lieutenant, is coaching the Farragut Naval Training Station football team and has a roster packed with former pros (see page 27). Farragut is about an hour east of Spokane, Wash. and is the second-largest training base in the Navy. In fact, in 1943 it was the largest town in Idaho…
This week in the war is summarized on page 35, and the 1st Infantry Division, veterans of North Africa and now Sicily, is celebrated on page 37… On page 93, Lt. Col. William R. Lovelace Jr. is pictured after setting the record for the highest parachute jump, at 40,200 feet. The Army flight surgeon was testing high-altitude jumps and was knocked unconscious when his chute opened and got frostbite from his glove being ripped off… Construction of the massive timber-framed airship hangars on the next page.
Evening star. (Washington, D.C.), 11 July 1943. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045462/1943-07-11/ed-1/