Elmer Gedeon

Elmer John Gedeon (April 15, 1917 – April 20, 1944) was an American professional baseball player, appearing in several games for the Washington Senators in.

Gedeon and Harry O'Neill were the only two Major League Baseball players killed during World War II.

Gedeon flew several missions in the European Theater of Operations as an officer of the United States Army Air Forces before being shot down over France.

During college at the University of Michigan, Gedeon became an All-American in track and field, and earned varsity letters in both football and baseball.

Born on April 15, 1917, in Cleveland, Gedeon was a star athlete at Cleveland's West High School, where he was a member of the class of 1935.

He was a 6ft 4in athlete who excelled in American football, baseball, and track and field.

While ice skating in Brookside Park in Cleveland as a youth, the ice gave way and Gedeon's cousin plunged through up to his neck.

The cousin later recalled: "Elmer slid across the ice on his belly and pulled me out."

Some sources state that Joe Gedeon, a Major League Baseball player who was implicated in the Chicago Black Sox scandal was Elmer's uncle, but this is unlikely--he may have been a more remote relative.

Gedeon's surname was common in Cleveland, because many people from Sudetenland, where it was common, settled in Cleveland.

One finding was that Gedeon's widow, who was named Laura, later moved to Florida.

Another was that his third cousin Charlotte Gedeon said Elmer carried her grandmother's casket during a funeral.

Gedeon enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1935 where he earned varsity letters in three sports: baseball, football, and track and field.

Gedeon's best sport was track and field, in which he was a two-time Big Ten Conference champion in the outdoor 120-yard high hurdles and indoor 70-yard high hurdles.

Gedeon also wore #51 for the Michigan Wolverines football program from 1936 to 1938, earning three varsity letters in football.

In 1937, a feature article on the Michigan team noted that, in addition to his abilities as an end, "Gedeon can pass and punt, and can run faster than any one on the squad."

He tied a world record in the high hurdles in 1938.

After graduating, Gedeon had a stint in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Washington Senators.

In March 1938, Gedeon tied the American indoor record in the 70 yd high hurdles at the Big Ten meet in Chicago.

He went on to tie a world record in the Illinois Relays, and then won the Big Ten title despite an injury.

Michigan won both the Big Ten outdoor and indoor championships in 1938–1939.

At the 1938 outdoor National Collegiate Athletic Association championships, he placed third in the 120 yd hurdles and became an All-American in track and field.

In 1938, Gedeon played end in Coach Fritz Crisler's first season as Michigan's football coach.

That was the year that Coach Crisler introduced the "winged football helmet" at Michigan.

Team captain Fred Janke recalled Gedeon was "a tall, skinny guy", at 6 ft and 196 lb. "A rather serious kid. He could kick quite well. They used to pull him back in serious situations and let him punt the ball, because he could punt it a mile."

In baseball, Gedeon played both first base and the outfield for the Michigan Wolverines baseball team.

He was a two-time letterman in baseball and batted .320.

Gedeon spent most of the 1939 and 1940 baseball seasons in the minor leagues, but he was called up to the Senators in September 1939.

He also led Michigan to victory in the March 1939 Big Ten indoor track and field meet in Chicago.

Gedeon signed with the Washington Senators after graduating in the summer of 1939.

Gedeon was initially assigned to a minor league baseball team in Orlando, Florida where he played in 67 games in 1939.

In mid-September, he was called up to the major leagues where he appeared in five games as an outfielder with three hits, one run and one RBI.

His three hits came in a 10–9 win against the Cleveland Indians on September 19 as the starting centerfielder.

In his five major league games, he played four games in center field and one in right field.

He chose to sign with the Senators over a possible appearance as a member of the USA's track team in the 1940 Summer Olympics.

Gedeon was quite a prospect; Clark Griffith, president of the Senators, mentioned Gedeon to The Sporting News on June 15, when talking about exciting new players: "We've got ... a youngster from the University of Michigan named Gedeon."

In 1940, Gedeon attended spring training with the Senators in Orlando, seeking a spot in the outfield or first base.

Gedeon's baseball career was cut short when he was drafted by the United States Army in early 1941.

He trained as a bomber pilot, and was decorated for bravery after his plane crashed on a training flight in 1942.

He later served in combat, and was shot down and killed while piloting a B-26 bomber on a mission over France in April 1944.