While on the Subject of Dana, Indiana-- Bert Shepard

This little town is also the birthplace of another notable son, Bert Shepard.

I'd never heard of him, but saw that he had a short career in MLB, so did some research.

It turns out that he was a pitcher with the Washington Senators in the 1940s after losing a leg in World War II, the only major player ever to do so with an artificial limb.

He had pitched in the minor leagues before the war, but Bert joined the Army Air Corps as a pilot of a P-38. After 33 missions, he was shot down over Germany and lost a leg. He taught himself to walk and pitch.

When he returned to baseball, he was signed by the Senators and, on August 4, 1945, with Washington trailing the Red Sox by a lot, he went in for relief and pitched five and a half innings, giving up one run on three hits in a 15-4 loss.

Later, he was a player-manager in the minors until 1954.

Two other items of interest from that game in 1845:

Shepherd came in for JOE CLEARLY, the last Irish-born player in the majors. Also, Boston's TOM McBRIDE tied a major league record with 6 rbis in the 4th inning.

I Didn't Know That. --RoadDog