In 1940, Greenberg was voted to the All-Star team for the fourth year in a row. He led the league in home runs (for the third time in 6 years) with 41 and in RBIs (150) He batted .340 (fifth best in the AL). He also led the Tigers to a pennant, and won his second American League MVP award, becoming the first player in major-league history to win an MVP award at two different positions.
HOWEVER… In May of 1941, Hank got drafted and went into the Army, long before the US got into World War II.
He was just about to be discharged when… Pearl Harbor was attacked and he re-enlisted, becoming the first Major League Baseball player to sign up to serve his country in war-time. Many others would soon follow.
The Beginning of the End of the Holocaust… In the Shemitah of 570513 Sh’vat 5705 (January 27, 1945)
The Holocaust ends… 16 Iyyar 5705 April 29, 1945 American forces liberate Dachau
Also in a Shemitah… 27 Av 5705 August 6,1945 First atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
Greenberg remained in uniform until the summer of 1945. In Greenberg's first game back after being discharged, on July 1, he homered.Without the benefit of spring training, he returned to the Tigers, was again voted to the All-Star Team, and helped lead them to a come-from-behind American League pennant, clinching it with a grand slam home run in the dark—no lights in Sportsman's Park in St. Louis—ninth inning of the final game of the season. It came after the umpire allegedly told Hank that he was ready to call the game due to darkness, because the ump—former Yankee pitching star of the 1920s Murderers Row team, George Pipgras, supposedly said "Sorry Hank, but I'm gonna have to call the game. I can't see the ball." Greenberg replied, "Don't worry, George, I can see it just fine," so the game continued. It ended with Greenberg's grand slam on the next pitch, clinching Hal Newhouser's 25th victory of the season. The slam allowed the Tigers to clinch the pennant and avoid a one-game playoff (that would have been necessary without the win) against the now-second-place Washington Senators.
The Tigers went on to beat the Cubs in the 1945 World Series in seven games. Only three home runs were hit in that World Series. Phil Cavarretta hit one for the Cubs in Game One (still the LAST home run hit in the World Series by a Cub player).Greenberg hit the only two homers by the Tigers—one in Game Two, where he batted in three runs in a 4–1 win; the other—a two-run shot—tied the game in the eighth inning of Game Six, making the score 8–8, but the Cubs won that game with a run in the bottom of the 12th.
The end… 1947 In 1947, Greenberg and the Tigers had a lengthy salary dispute. When Greenberg decided to retire rather than play for less, Detroit sold his contract to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Greenberg played first base for the Pirates in 1947 and was one of the few opposing players to publicly welcome Jackie Robinson to the majors.
Hank Greenberg Hank Greenberg lost playing time to both injuries and military service. In all, he played just 7 seasons of 130 or more games. That’s SEVEN.His lifetime batting average is .313 (which add up to SEVEN) and his career home run total is 331 (which also adds up to SEVEN). He holds the Jewish records in both categories.
Charlie Gehringer?
Charlie Gehringer? He was born to German Catholic parents, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have Jewish ancestry (like so many other Germans). He was intelligent, attending the University of Michigan, leaving only because the Detroit manager Ty Cobb saw how good he was and signed him to a contract after a tryout in 1923.
Charlie Gehringer? He was a quiet man (not a typical Jewish characteristic, but he had a sense of humor about his reputation.
At a civic banquet in his honor, Gehringer's entire speech consisted of the following: "I'm known around baseball as saying very little, and I'm not going to spoil my reputation." When asked why he signed his name "Chas. Gehringer," he responded: "Why use seven letters when four will do?" On another occasion, when
Charlie Gehringer? On another occasion, when asked about his closed-lip reputation, he responded: "Not true; if somebody asked me a question, I would answer them. If they said, 'Pass the salt,' I would pass the salt.“He was nicknamed “The Mechanical Man” by Lefty Gomez, because of his quiet demeanor and his consistency on the baseball field
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