I'm writing a biography of my Grandfather, Captain Woodrow Thorvald "Woody" Petersen (first name sometimes given as "Pete," surname sometimes given as "Peterson"). After Pearl Harbor, Woody declined a pro contract from Cleveland to serve in the Navy. I believe Woody played for the Great Lakes baseball team in 1942 and possibly 1943. May I please ask if you have any record or file relating to Great Lakes or military baseball that mentions him? Many thanks! - Philip Lee, author of "Black Stats Matter" and "Catan: A Guide to Strategy" -- philngill@gmail.com
I did some searching but not not find much, other than an article about embroidery. Did he go to college before the Navy? It is possible be played regimental ball at Great Lakes rather than "varsity." That info is harder to find.
Thanks very much for your reply. Iassume the embroidery article is from the Omaha World-Herald for January 11, 1942; if not, I'd very much like to see your primary source. Are you aware of an information source for Great Lakes regimental baseball? Again -- many thanks!
It was from the Alton (IA) Democrat on 3/20/42. The Great Lakes Bulletin is the longtime base newspaper, though I do not have a link to it from the WWII era. I used it extensively in my research on the WWI football team.
You could have found all this info in my 2008 book, "Bluejackets Of Summer: The History of The Great Lakes Navy Baseball Team" and my 2013 football book, "By Air Ground & Sea: History of The Great Lakes Navy Football Team." Roger Gogan rogergogan@yahoo.com
I'm writing a biography of my Grandfather, Captain Woodrow Thorvald "Woody" Petersen (first name sometimes given as "Pete," surname sometimes given as "Peterson"). After Pearl Harbor, Woody declined a pro contract from Cleveland to serve in the Navy. I believe Woody played for the Great Lakes baseball team in 1942 and possibly 1943. May I please ask if you have any record or file relating to Great Lakes or military baseball that mentions him? Many thanks! - Philip Lee, author of "Black Stats Matter" and "Catan: A Guide to Strategy" -- philngill@gmail.com
I did some searching but not not find much, other than an article about embroidery. Did he go to college before the Navy? It is possible be played regimental ball at Great Lakes rather than "varsity." That info is harder to find.
Thanks very much for your reply. Iassume the embroidery article is from the Omaha World-Herald for January 11, 1942; if not, I'd very much like to see your primary source. Are you aware of an information source for Great Lakes regimental baseball? Again -- many thanks!
It was from the Alton (IA) Democrat on 3/20/42. The Great Lakes Bulletin is the longtime base newspaper, though I do not have a link to it from the WWII era. I used it extensively in my research on the WWI football team.
Thanks very much for the pointer to this article, which is new to me -- and for taking the time to answer my questions! :)
You could have found all this info in my 2008 book, "Bluejackets Of Summer: The History of The Great Lakes Navy Baseball Team" and my 2013 football book, "By Air Ground & Sea: History of The Great Lakes Navy Football Team." Roger Gogan rogergogan@yahoo.com