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Those Who Died That Others Might Be Free

 

Jim Grilk

Date and Place of Birth: September 21, 1914 Manila, Philippine Islands
Date and Place of Death: July 16, 1942 Sacramento, CA
Baseball Experience: Minor League
Position: Catcher
Rank: Civilian
Military Unit: Civilian Athletic Director at Sacramento Army Air Depot
Area Served: United States

Jim Grilk was a civilian, using his baseball skills to help the military sports program and make the team at Sacramento Army Air Base one of the best in the state.

James M "Jim" Grilk was born in the Philippine Islands on September 21, 1914. He attended the University of California at Berkeley where he was a standout on the baseball team, with a .377 team-leading batting average in 1935, his senior year.

Grilk was signed by Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League right out of Berkeley. In 1936, he played 158 games at first base for the Solons, posting a .258 average with 10 home runs and 32 doubles.

He spent the next couple of seasons with Sacramento farm teams developing his hitting but also learning to play a new position - catcher. He had a career-year with the Asheville Tourists of the Piedmont League in 1937, batting .320 with 25 home runs and 120 RBIs.

 

Grilk was back with the Solons in 1939 for 98 games and hit .238. In 1940 he made 125 appearances and batted a much-improved .299 with six home runs and 48 RBIs.

Still the property of Sacramento, Grilk played for the New Orleans Pelicans in 1941. He was on loan again in 1942 but this time as a civilian athletic director at the Sacramento Army Air Depot, where he was coach and player-manager with the depot baseball team.

 

On Monday July 13, 1942, Jim Grilk and Lieutenant John Corcoran - who was based at Mather Field - were returning to Sacramento after a day's fishing. Corcoran was driving. At around 4.30pm at Woodland, about 20 miles northwest of Sacramento, they collided with another car. Grilk suffered multiple injuries including a fractured skull that rendered him unconscious. He was taken to the nearby Yolo hospital for treatment. Lieutenant Corcoran was also treated for cuts and a possible skull fracture. The occupants of the other vehicle were Charles Frields and his 15-year-old son, Edward. They had been en route to Knights Landing to look for work. Charles suffered minor injuries while Edward suffered a fractured left arm.

Grilk, still unconscious, was moved to Sutter Hospital in Sacramento for further treatment. He died, without regaining consciousness on Thursday July 16, 1942.

Jim Grilk was buried at East Lawn Memorial Park in his hometown Sacramento on July 18. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth, a sister, Dorothy, brother Arthur and mother, Elizabeth.

 

Added July 15, 2006. Updated January 23, 2008.

 

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