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Those Who Died That Others Might Be Free

 

Ernie Ford

 

Date and Place of Birth: Unknown
Date and Place of Death: May 1945 Texas
Baseball Experience: Minor League
Position: Pitcher
Rank: Lieutenant
Military Unit: US Marine Corps
Area Served: United States

 

Ernest "Ernie" Ford was a 6-foot-3, 200-pound left-handed pitcher who was signed by the Boston Red Sox in May 1942 after graduating from Holy Cross where he played for Coach Jack Barry's Crusaders team. “The Red Sox bid high to get Ernie Ford, the Holy Cross southpaw, for their Louisville farm,” reported Bill Kling in the Lowell Sun on May 5, 1942. “It can be taken for granted that the Crusader star, who towers six-feet-three and weighs 215, made the best possible bargain. He first listened to the offers of Paul Kritchell, who scouts the New England sector for the Yankees, and the Dodgers’ Heinie Groh.”

 

He joined the Greensboro Red Sox, champions of the Piedmont League that year, and was 5-6 with a 3.03 ERA before entering military service with the Marines.

 

In 1943, Ford was at Quantico, Virginia, where he played baseball along with Ted Lyons and Ike Pearson. He then served overseas before volunteering for parachute maneuvers at a Texas training camp. He was killed in a practice jump in May 1945.

 

Added February 5, 2008. Updated September 16, 2008.

 

Copyright © 2008 Gary Bedingfield (Baseball in Wartime). All Rights Reserved.