Russell Harlan Meers (November 28, 1918 – November 16, 1994), nicknamed "Babe", was a

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) ...

. He played for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

in 1941, 1946–47. Meers made his major league debut for the 1941

on the final day of the season. In 1942 he was sent down to the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association. During the season, Meers joined the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

where he spent more than three years serving during World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Meers rejoined the Cubs after the war, pitching during the 1946 and 1947 seasons.

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1918 births 1994 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago Cubs players Baseball players from Illinois People from Vermilion County, Illinois Nashville Vols players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub