Dixie Howell
Ballplayers Who Were Prisoners of War
| Date and Place of Birth: | January 7, 1920 Bowman, KY |
| Date and Place of Death: | March 18, 1960 Hollywood, FL |
| Baseball Experience: | Major League |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Private First-Class |
| Military Unit: | 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division US Army |
| Area Served: | European Theater of Operations |
Millard “Dixie” Howell was born on January 7, 1920 in Bowman, Kentucky.
His family lter moved to the coal mining town of Dehue, West Virginia.
After quitting grammar school in the eighth grade, Howell played for the
local town team.
“I always liked to play baseball with the older fellows,” he told The
Sporting News on September 14, 1955, “and in those days I would play in
the outfield, pitch or in the infield … anywhere just so I could get on
the team.”
The local mine foreman recommended the right-hander to the Logan Indians
of the Mountain State League in 1937, and he finished the season with a
13-11 won-lost record and played right field when he wasn’t pitching. It
was also the year he picked up the nickname 'Dixie.' “I was something
of a favorite of the colored folks who would come out to the games,” he
recalled, “and whenever I would come to bat, they’d holler, ‘Come on,
Dixie,’ and I guess the name just stuck with me.”
At the end of the season Cleveland bought his contract and assigned him
to the Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets of the Bi-State League for 1938.
He was with the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the Eastern League in 1939
establishing a league single-game strike out record with 20 and posting
a 12-12 record. Despite being regarded as one of the finest prospects in
the Cleveland chain and having a brief stint with the Indians in which
he made three major league relief appearances at the close of the 1940
season, recurring illness and a sore arm kept the youngster from
reaching his potential.
In March 1943 he was purchased by the Cincinnati Reds and assigned to
the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League. Howell helped the
Chiefs win the league pennant with 13 victories against nine losses and
was scheduled to join the Reds in the spring of 1944.
But on November 23, 1943, Howell entered military service with the Army.
He was assigned to an infantry training unit at Camp Wolters, Texas and
was then at Camp Shanks, New York before leaving for Europe.
Advancing with the 60th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry
Division through Belgium on September 6, 1944, Private First-Class
Howell and other infantrymen had to cross the River Meuse in boats
because all bridges had been destroyed by the retreating German troops.
On the other side of the river they were surprised by enemy troops and
150 Americans, including Howell, were taken prisoner.
Howell, who was married with two young daughters at the time, was taken
to the Stalag VIIA prisoner-of-war camp at Moosburg, Germany – about 40
miles northeast of Munich. “In the morning,” he said, “we got nothing
except bad coffee. The noon fare was usually some sort of soup and in
the evening we'd get minced ham … the fellows called it horse meat …
potatoes and bread.
"The Red Cross would give us chocolate bars and other things hard to get
and some of us would trade these things for bread. The camp officials
would deal out the bread about five men to a loaf.
"If you worked at cleaning up the buildings, on the farms or on the
railroad, you would get better food.
"We slept on straw beds without adequate covering, so we would use our
clothes to help keep warm at night.
"But I stood it all pretty good and I don't think I lost much weight. We
didn't realize how near the war was to ending. Now and then we would get
information from the guards, but it was never accurate."
In April 1945, Howell – 75 pounds lighter than his usual 210 – was
liberated by advancing Allied forces. He returned to the United States
and was discharged from military service on November 8, 1945.
Howell - now 26 years old - went to spring training with the Reds in
1946, but having been away from the game for two years he found himself
back with Syracuse for the regular season. He spent four years with the
Chiefs and was 17-12 in 1948. In 1949, he got another taste of the major
leagues, pitching in five games with the Reds.
Howell was purchased by the New York Giants in 1950. He was now 30 years
old and pitched for the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association.
It was to be an exceptional season for him. He had a 14-2 won-lost
record and threw a 6-0 no-hitter against Columbus on August 10.
Despite his minor league performance there seemed no chance of a return
to the major leagues and arm problems made him consider retiring before
returning to the Millers for one more try.
1952 was a bizarre year for Howell. He was purchased by the Philadelphia
Phillies in January, but returned to the Giants in May. A week later he
was purchased by the White Sox for $2,500, and assigned to the Memphis
Chicks of the Southern Association where his timely relief pitching led
them to the Dixie Series title.
Howell remained with the Memphis Chicks in 1953 and 1954, before
returning to the major leagues in 1955 with the White Sox. Now a relief
specialist, Howell appeared in 35 games for Chicago and was 8-3 with a
2.93 ERA. After 18 years of professional baseball, Howell had finally
become a major league regular and spent three seasons on the White Sox
staff. He made his last major league appearance on April 26, 1958, aged
38.
Howell returned to the minors and pitched for the Indianapolis Indians
of the American Association in 1958 and 1959. On March 18, 1960, at the
Indians’ spring training camp in Hollywood, Florida, Howell complained
of chest pains after doing some running at about 2pm. A doctor ordered
him to a hospital where, just three hours later he died from a heart
attack. He was just 40 years old.
Millard “Dixie” Howell is buried at the Oaklawn Cemetery and Mausoleum
in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Date Added May 16, 2020.
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