Pete Glassman

Date and Place of Birth:	Date Unknown Oakley, KS
Date and Place of Death:	November 24, 1942 near Medjez-el-Bab, Tunisia
Baseball Experience:	Amateur
Position:	Outfield
Rank:	Corporal
Military Unit:	Company C, 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion, 1st Armored Division US Army
Area Served:	Mediterranean Theater of Operations

Peter L. Glassman, son of Louis and Anna Glassman, was an outstanding outfielder for Larned, Kansas of the Ban Johnson League's Western Division in the late 1930s. The Ban Johnson League started in Kansas City, Missouri in 1927 and was sponsored by American League president Ban Johnson. Created as a recreation for teenagers, it later allowed men of up to 21 to play. By 1936 it had grown to 50 teams with two leagues in Missouri, four in Kansas, four in Oklahoma and two more in Texas. Players signed contracts, managers received pay and clubs charged admission to the games. Players like Morton and Walker Cooper came through the Ban Johnson system.

Glassman served with Company C of the 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion. The battalion was attached to the 1st Armored Division and participated in the Operation Torch landings on November 8, 1942, near Oran, North Africa. The battalion advanced towards Tunisia beginning 16 November. On November 24, they advanced from Beja in the direction of Medjez-el-Beb (about 40 miles west of Tunis) and were mortared and straffed all afternoon. One man was killed during this advance, Corporal Peter Glassman. He is buried at the North Africa American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia.

Also serving with Company C, was platoon leader 2/Lt. John C. Eggleton, who was killed in action near Medjez-El-Beb on December 11, 1942.

Sources:
Hutchinson News-Herald, July 17, 1938
Hutchinson News-Herald, February 28, 1943

Some of this information was obtained from www.tankdestroyer.net

Date Added: February 17, 2013 Updated: May 6, 2013

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