Bert Robert Shepard (June 28, 1920 – June 16, 2008) was an American left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

who pitched in one game for the Washington Senators in 1945 after having had his right leg

amputated Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indiv ...

after his

fighter plane Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield p ...

was shot down in Germany during World War II while he was serving as a pilot in the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

."Milestones: Bert Shephard". ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

''. July 7, 2008. p. 18.

Biography

Born in

Dana, Indiana Dana is a town in Helt Township, Vermillion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 608 at the 2010 census. It is primarily a farming community. History Dana was platted in 1874 when the railroad was extended to that point. The town w ...

, the 5"11", 185 lb left-hander taught himself to walk and then to pitch with an artificial leg while confined in the German

POW A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

camp ''Stalag IX C(b)'' in city

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

. The Canadian doctor and prisoner Doug Errey produced the prosthesis for Bert. Shepard had been gunned down east of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

on his 34th mission as a

P-38 The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive t ...

fighter pilot; his life was saved by the doctor Lieutenant Ladislaus Loidl of the German Army. On February 21, 1945, Shepard was back in the United States and hoping to resume his pitching career. Prior to the war, he had pitched for minor leagues all across the country, including the

Anaheim Aces The Anaheim Aces were a charter member of baseball's California League, founded in 1941 as a Class "C" minor league. The other charter teams were the Bakersfield Badgers, Fresno Cardinals, Merced Bears, Riverside Reds, San Bernardino Stars, Sa ...

in 1941. During

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

in 1945, he impressed Senators owner

Clark Griffith Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955), nicknamed "The Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Reds ...

enough to be hired as a

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

. He pitched exhibition games and batting practice as well as one regulation game, making him the first man with an artificial leg to pitch in a major league baseball game. On August 4, 1945, Shepard got the call to enter in the fourth inning of a home game in which the Senators were well behind the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

. It was game two of Washington's fourth consecutive doubleheader, with a fifth scheduled the next day as well. Shepard made headlines not only for being in the game itself, but also for his

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s of impressive relief, allowing only three

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

and one

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop grou ...

. He struck out the first batter he faced. The final score was Red Sox 15, Senators 4. The game of August 4, 1945, was notable for two other events as well. Shepard came in to relieve teammate

Joe Cleary Joseph Christopher Cleary (December 3, 1918 – June 3, 2004), nicknamed "Fire", was a Major League Baseball pitcher for one game in 1945. The right-hander was born in Cork, and he was the last native of Ireland to appear in a major league game u ...

, whose surrender of seven runs on five hits and three walks in one-third of an inning in his only big-league appearance earned him the highest lifetime ERA — 189.00 — of any pitcher in Major League Baseball history to have recorded at least one out. Also,

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Tom McBride tied a major league record with 6

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

in the fourth inning, which was pitched by Cleary. In between games of a doubleheader on August 31, Shepard received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

for his service in World War II. He later went on to be a player/manager in the minor leagues until 1954. He was a key participant in the

National Amps National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

baseball teams of former servicemen with amputations secondary to war injuries. After retiring from baseball, Shepard worked for IBM and

Hughes Aircraft The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other prod ...

as a

safety engineer Safety engineers focus on development and maintenance of the integrated management system. They act as a quality assurance and conformance specialist. Health and safety engineers are responsible for developing and maintaining the safe work system ...

. Shepard won the U.S. amputee

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

championship in 1968 and 1971. Shepard died at age 87 in

Highland, California Highland (and neighboring "East Highlands") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population of the city was 53,104 as of the 2010 census, up from 44,605 at the 2000 census. The term ''Highland'' also refers to a ge ...

. He was buried at

Riverside National Cemetery Riverside National Cemetery (RNC) is a cemetery located in Riverside, California, dedicated to the interment of United States military personnel. The cemetery covers , making it the largest cemetery managed by the National Cemetery Administratio ...

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and ...

.Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice
/ref>

References

External links

BaseballLibrary
– biography & photograph
BaseballLibrary
– Once Around the Bases

– Bert Shepard and the Missing Foot

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, Bert 1920 births 2008 deaths American amputees American disabled sportspeople Sportspeople with limb difference Anaheim Aces players Baseball players from Indiana Bisbee Bees players Burials at Riverside National Cemetery Chattanooga Lookouts players Decatur Commodores players Duluth Dukes players Hot Springs Bathers players Jeanerette Blues players Major League Baseball pitchers Military personnel from Indiana Modesto Reds players Mount Airy Graniteers players Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) St. Augustine Saints players Shot-down aviators United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Tampa Smokers players Washington Senators (1901–1960) coaches Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Washington Senators (1901–60) scouts Williston Oilers players Wisconsin Rapids White Sox players World War II prisoners of war held by Germany Baseball players with disabilities

Biography

References

Further reading

External links