James Stewart
| Date and Place of Birth: | July 30, 1924 Hazlehurst, GA |
| Date and Place of Death: | March 22, 1945 Iwo Jima, Pacific |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Private |
| Military Unit: | 7th Platoon, Company C, 34th Replacement Draft, 3rd Marine Division, USMC |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
James E. Stewart, the son of Claud and Dora Stewart, was born in Hazlehurst, Georgia, on July 30, 1924. A
pitcher, he was signed by the Atlanta Crackers along with
Troy Furr (who
was killed in action in France in January 1945) during the winter of
1943. Sadly, he never got to play a game in a Crackers uniform as he
entered military service with the Marine Corps.
Twenty-year-old Private Stewart was in the Pacific with 7th Platoon,
Company C, 34th Replacement Draft, 3rd Marine Division at Iwo Jima in
March 1945. He was killed in action on March 22 - one of 4,500 Marines
who lost their lives on the tiny volcanic island. Major leaguers
Harry
O'Neill and minor leaguers
Jim Trimble,
Frank Ciaffone,
Bob Holmes,
Jack
Lummus and Jack Nealy also lost their lives on Iwo Jima.
On September 8, 1946, a special service was held between games of a
double header between the Atlanta Crackers and the Mobile Bears, with a
plaque unveilled at the rear of the grandstand of Ponce de Leon Park to
honor the five Cracker players who made the ultimate sacrifice in World
War II - James Stewart, Troy Furr,
Frank Haggerty,
Duck McKee and
Milton Rosenstein.
James Stewart is buried at Hazlehurst City Cemetery, Georgia.
|
Year |
Team |
League |
Class |
G |
IP |
ER |
BB |
SO |
W |
L |
ERA |
| 1943 | Atlanta | Southern Assoc | A1 | Signed but did not play | |||||||
Thanks to Ray Nemec and Mark Aubrey for help with this biography.
Date Added April 13, 2012 March 14, 2020
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