Lee Porterfield
Ballplayers Wounded in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | November 9, 1920 nr. Greenfield, MO |
| Date and Place of Death: | January 30, 2010 Fallon, NV |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Corporal |
| Military Unit: | 11th Armored Division US Army |
| Area Served: | European Theater of Operations |
Lee A. Porterfield, the son of John and Ellen Porterfield, was born on a
farm near Greenfield, Missouri, on November 9, 1920. The family later
moved to Gooding, Idaho.
A left-handed pitcher, Porterfield signed with the Cincinnati Reds
organization in 1942, and pitched for two Class B teams: the Columbia
Reds of the South Atlantic League (1-5 in 7 games) and the Anniston Rams
of the Southeastern League (13-11 with a 3.56 ERA in 27 games).
Porterfield's baseball career was put on hold after the 1942 season as
military service beckoned. Corporal Porterfield served in Europe with
the 11th Armored Division, and was awarded the Silver Star and the
Bronze Star. He also received the Purple Heart for wounds received in
combat. With the cease of hostilities in Europe in the summer of 1945,
he pitched for the 11th Armored Division ball team.
Porterfield returned to baseball in 1946, rejoining the Anniston Rams
for 11 games and hurling one game for the Tallassee Indians of the Class
D Georgia-Alabama League to end his professional career. He moved to
Nevada, with his wife, Dolores, in 1952. They owned and operated the
State Line Café in McDermitt, Nevada, from 1959 to 1968. In 1972, they
moved to Carson City, Nevada, where he worked as a miner, butcher,
restaurateur, chef and bartender, retiring at the age of 79.
Lee Porterfield passed away at Highland Village, a retirement community
in Fallon, Nevada, on January 30, 2010. He was 89 years old and is
buried at Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, Nevada.
Date Added January 15, 2018
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