Correspondence Concerning Red Sox Players at the Boston Navy Yard
12/1917 - 2/1918
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These letters, memos, and endorsements pertain to Boston Red Sox baseball players serving in the Naval Reserve Force during World War I.
In the winter of 1917-1918, Red Sox owner Harry M. Frazee had petitioned both Commandant of the Boston Navy Yard, Captain William R. Rush, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, for the release of Yeoman John J. "Jack" Barry, the team's manager and second baseman, as well as Yeoman George E. "Duffy" Lewis, the team's left fielder, so that they might be available to play in the 1918 season. Barry and several other players were stationed at Boston Navy Yard, while Lewis was stationed at Mare Island Navy Yard in Vallejo, California.
In his letter to Assistant Secretary Roosevelt, Frazee stated that 12 of his players had enlisted in either the Army or Navy following the conclusion of the 1917 season, and expressed concerns about maintaining a competitive team and financially viable business investment in their absence. Frazee wrote, “Although I would like to have the services of several of the other players whom I have lost, I do not feel that in this hour of our country’s crisis I ought to ask it, and I am only too happy to know that the Boston club has been able to provide so many good men and stands in the front rank of all the base ball clubs in America as having contributed the largest number of men, twelve in all.”
The 1918 season was cut short due to the war. Despite most of the players declining to seek leave to play "league baseball," the Red Sox won the 1918 World Series, their third championship in four years.
In the winter of 1917-1918, Red Sox owner Harry M. Frazee had petitioned both Commandant of the Boston Navy Yard, Captain William R. Rush, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin D. Roosevelt, for the release of Yeoman John J. "Jack" Barry, the team's manager and second baseman, as well as Yeoman George E. "Duffy" Lewis, the team's left fielder, so that they might be available to play in the 1918 season. Barry and several other players were stationed at Boston Navy Yard, while Lewis was stationed at Mare Island Navy Yard in Vallejo, California.
In his letter to Assistant Secretary Roosevelt, Frazee stated that 12 of his players had enlisted in either the Army or Navy following the conclusion of the 1917 season, and expressed concerns about maintaining a competitive team and financially viable business investment in their absence. Frazee wrote, “Although I would like to have the services of several of the other players whom I have lost, I do not feel that in this hour of our country’s crisis I ought to ask it, and I am only too happy to know that the Boston club has been able to provide so many good men and stands in the front rank of all the base ball clubs in America as having contributed the largest number of men, twelve in all.”
The 1918 season was cut short due to the war. Despite most of the players declining to seek leave to play "league baseball," the Red Sox won the 1918 World Series, their third championship in four years.
This primary source comes from the Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments.
National Archives Identifier: 5751792
Full Citation: Matters Related to Red Sox Players; 12/1917 - 2/1918; Personnel Officer General 19-41, Jan. - April 1918; General Correspondence, 1909 - 1969; Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, Record Group 181; National Archives at Boston, Waltham, MA. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/red-sox-boston-navy-yard, March 24, 2025]Activities that use this document
- Baseball on the World War I Homefront
Created by the National Archives Education Team - Baseball: A Morale Booster During Wartime?
Created by the National Archives Education Team
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