Baseball in Wartime

Go on, why not sponsor this page for $5.00 and have your own message appear in this space.
Click here for details

Those Who Died That Others Might Be Free

World War II Hero of the Minor Leagues

Troy Furr

Date and Place of Birth: July 11, 1923 Concord, North Carolina
Date and Place of Death: January 3, 1945 Philippsbourg, France
Baseball Experience: Minor League
Position: Second Base
Rank: Private First Class
Military Unit: Company M, 275th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division US Army
Area Served: European Theater of Operations

Troy Furr of Concord, NC Troy L. Furr, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Furr, was born in Concord, North Carolina on July 11, 1923. An infielder, he was playing semi-pro baseball in the Concord City League in 1943 and led the circuit in pitching and fielding.

With ballplayers being called into military service at an alarming rate, Earl Mann, president of the Atlanta Crackers of the Class A1 Southern Association, signed Furr during the winter of 1943 in the hope he would be a useful infielder for the club's 1944 season.

Unfortunately, military service intervened before he could play a game as a professional, and Furr entered service with the Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on April 13, 1944. Following basic training he was sent to France where he served with Company M - a heavy weapons company - of the 275th Infantry Regiment, 70th "Trailblazers" Infantry Division. The division had landed at Marseille, France, in December 1944, and reached the front on December 28, near Bischweiler on the west bank of the Rhine River.

On January 3, 1945, while in combat as a machine gunner during the battle for the town of Philippsbourg in north-eastern France, Private First Class Furr was reported missing. It was later confirmed he had been killed in action that day.

Troy Furr is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Concord, North Carolina.

Added February 12, 2011.

Visit the Baseball in