Popular Sports During WWII
During World War Two, sports were a particularly important aspect of life due to them keeping people at home entertained. Some of the most popular sports included boxing, football, and baseball. These sports all had wartime veterans that inspired others to fight for a country that meant a lot to them.
BOXING:
Throughout the war, sports were a great form of entertainment for people at home. One of these sports includes boxing, which had many war veterans who momentarily retired from the sport to help their country.
Max Baer. Throughout the 1930s-1950s Boxing was by far one of the most popular sports. One of the most popular boxers of the time was Max Baer. Max Baer was a hard-hitting pugilist who ended up
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Throughout this time, there were also a lot of professional football players who fought in the war. A very main example of this included Charlie Behan, who fought in Okinawa, Japan.
Where/when. In 1942 a professional football player named Charlie Behan joined the Second World War. During his time in the war, Charlie fought in Okinawa, Japan. The battle he fought in what was called, “The Battle for Sugar Loaf Hill.” This battle lasted for 10 days (about 1 and a half weeks). Charlie Behan served in the war until May 18, 1945. (Frei, Terry)
Entertainment. During this extensive period that Charlie was in the war, he scrimmaged many football games. These scrimmages included the 4th Regiment, and the 12th Regiment. An interesting fact about Charlie Behan is that he competed as a professional football player throughout the 1942 National Football League season. (Frei, Terry)
Death. Unfortunately, in the early morning of May 18, 1945, Charlie Behan was killed. His death was caused by an active machine gun that was firing from enemy territories. Nearly 1,700 people were killed in this war including 12 combined professional football players. After his abrupt and tragic death, Behan was awarded a Navy Cross. (Frei,
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In 1935, Italian American baseball player, Joe Dimaggio, signed with the New York Yankees. Although he signed with The Yankees in 1935, he only started playing with them in 1936. Throughout 1938 Dimaggio batted a .509 average, struck 32 home runs, and scored 129 runs. Even though he succeeded in the sport of baseball, Dimaggio joined the United States Air Force in 1943. However, Joe Dimaggio had many health issues such as ulcers. These would normally cause someone to be kicked out of the army, but the United States Government did not want to show bias towards athletes. So, they allowed him to join the army. This led to disaster in 1945. Joe Dimaggio was soon sent to Thomas M. England General Hospital due to ulcers on his leg starting to act up. This disease was not lethal to Joe, but it made him stand down from the army for a long time. After the war, Joe Dimaggio made his return to baseball. (Schoor,