L.A. Wattelet
| Date and Place of Birth: | July 1, 1882 Socorro, New Mexico |
| Date and Place of Death: | October 31, 1918 Belgium |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Outfield |
| Rank: | Captain |
| Military Unit: | Company A, 364th Infantry Regiment, 91st Division US Army |
| Area Served: | France and Belgium |
Leonard A. “L.A.” Wattelet, son of Desire and Eugenie Wattelet, was
born on July 1, 1882, in Socorro, New Mexico. His parents were both born
in France, and moved to California in the 1860s, where Leonard's older
siblings - Adolphe, Henriette and Jeanette were born. The family moved
to Socorro in 1881 - the year before Leonard was born - and operated a
liquor store in town until Desire - aged 72 - passed away in 1905.
Leonard Wattelet attended St. Michael's College in Santa Fe in 1895, and
New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell from 1898 to 1900. By 1901, he
was playing centerfield for the local team in Deming, New Mexico and the
Silver City Maroons, while working as a clerk at A. J. Clark & Co. In
1902, he went to work for the Kansas City Smelting and Refining Company,
but returned home to Socorro in July 1903, with a badly crushed and
broken hand.
In 1906, 24-year-old Wattelet played in two late-season games for the
Seattle Siwashes of the Class A Pacific Coast League. He was hitless in
five at-bats and although that marked the conclusion of his playing days
in professional baseball, his affiliation with the minors was far from
over.
Wattelet was living in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, where his
mother had been living since the death of her husband. He played
outfield for the non-affiliated Victora Wonders from 1908 to 1910, and
when the club - as the Bees - joined the Class B Northwestern League in
1911, he served as business manager, secretary and treasurer. He became
president of the club in December 1912, following the retirement of
local entrepreneur Joshua Kingham. Leonard remained with the Victoria
club through 1915, the team’s last season in pro ball.
Leonard, who married Florence Handley of Victoria, on June 4, 1913,
later moved with their son, Thomas (born in 1914) to Seattle,
Washington, where he ran a Dodge auto dealership.
With the United States having entered the First World War in April 1917,
34-year-old Wattelet was a captain as part of the Officers' Reserve
Corps at Presidio, San Francisco, when he was ordered into active
service on June 13, 1917. He attended the first officer’s training
school, and was placed in charge of baseball operations at Camp Lewis at
American Lake, near Tacoma, Washington, where 40,000 servicemen were
stationed. As general manager of the Camp Lewis team, Wattelet had an
abundance of professional baseball talent to choose from. He selected
Charlie Mullen (Yankees first baseman) as field manager, and players
included Jim Scott (White Sox pitcher), Red Oldham (Tigers pitcher),
Charlie Schmutz (Brooklyn pitcher), Walter Mails (Brooklyn pitcher),
Harry Kingman (Yankees first baseman), Lou Guisto (Indians first
baseman), Hap Myers (Brooklyn first baseman) and Pacific Coast Leaguer
Howard Mundorff.
As the war progressed every soldier was needed at the frontline in
France, and Captain Wattelet went left Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 28,
1918, on the former ocean liner SS Cretic. With Company A of the 364th
Infantry Regiment, 91st Division, his first operation was the St. Mihiel
Offensive in France in September 1918. Captain Wattelet fought in the
Meuse-Argonne Offensive, where he suffered shell shock after an enemy
shell exploded nearby. He was hospitalized at Fleury-sure-Aire, Vittel
and Bourdeaux, before returning to active duty. "If I ever get back to
Seattle," he said at the time, "and get a seat in that old Dodge car
I'll never get out of it."
By late October 1918, Wattelet was back with Company A at a wooded area
called Spitaals Bosschen, near Audenarde, Belgium. The area was full of
German troops that the 364th Infantry Regiment had to clear up.
Preparing to go into battle the next morning, Captain Wattelet removed
the braid from his outer coat so any snipers would be unable to identify
him as an officer. At 7am, Company A was in support about 500 yards from
Spitaals Bosschen, when a huge shell exploded, killing Wattelet and
three others. Colin V. Dyment, who worked for the Red Cross and wrote
accounts of the 364th Infantry Regiment's combat experiences, described
how "[Wattelet's] body, cut off at the waist, went down into the hole
made by the shell and seemed to be sitting up."
"He was one of the finest gentlemen in the division," said Lieutenant J.
D. Fletcher, who was with Wattelet shortly before he was killed. "He had
the love and respect of every man in the company."
150 men of the division were killed in that first day of the Audenarde
drive. Captain Wattelet is buried at Flanders Field American Cemetery in
Waregem, Belgium. His grave has been "adopted" by the mayor of Waregem,
Kurt Vanryckeghem.
"Captain Wattelet was a credit to the game of baseball," said Bob
Blewett, former major league player and president of the Pacific Coast
League, in December 1918. "Not only was he an excellent baseball fan and
sportsman, but Captain Wattelet was an ideal soldier."
Wattelet (front row, second left) is pictured at Camp Lewis in March 1918, alongside seven other prominent sports stars who were also at Camp Lewis. They are (back row, left to right): L.E. Ireland (wrestling), T.G. Cook (director of athletics at Camp Lewis), Willie Ritchie (boxing) and Eddie Keinholz (baseball, football, track and basketball at State College of Washington). Front row: W.L. Stanton (football coach), Wattelet, Father J. Glavin (soccer star at Dublin University) and Robert I. Simpson (track).
Leonard A. Wattelet's grave at at Flanders Field American Cemetery in Waregem, Belgium
Thanks to Mayor Vanryckeghem and Jack Morris for their help with this biography. Thanks also to Astrid van Erp, for help with photos.
Date Added September 9, 2013 Updated December 24, 2024
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