Wilson Francis
Ballplayers Wounded in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | April 4, 1919 Corea, ME |
| Date and Place of Death: | March 6, 2014 Boothbay, ME |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Military Unit: | US Army |
| Area Served: | European Theater of Operations |
Wilson G. "Lefty" Francis, the son of Guy and Mary Francis, was born on
April 4, 1919, in the small fishing village of Corea, Maine. After one
year at Winter Harbor High School, he transferred to Higgins Classical
Institute in Charleston, Maine, to complete his high school education.
Francis excelled as a left-handed pitcher at Higgins, and played in the
Tri-County League, for Dover-Foxcroft Sebec Lakers. He went on to play
minor league baseball in the Class D Virginia League for the
Harrisonburg Turks in 1940, posting an 11-9 record in 31 appearances.
In March of 1941, Francis entered military service and was stationed at
Fort Benning, Georgia. He continued to excel in sports, leading his
company basketball team to a championship and pitching for the Fort
Benning Doughboys. During his first season, he went 25-4, pitched two
no-hitters and struck out 21 and 22 batters in two separate games. He
was named Fort Benning Athlete of the Year in 1941. In December of 1942,
he was accepted into Officers Candidate School and graduated as a second
lieutenant.
In March of 1944, his unit was shipped to England, and three months
later, headed to Normandy, France. While on a patrol through a small
French village, Second Lieutenant Francis was struck in the left leg by
machine gun fire. Doctors wanted to amputate his leg because of the
severity of the wound, but he refused and spent more than a year at a
veterans hospital. Francis was discharged from the Army in 1945.
In 1948, Shotwell was presented with a lifetime pass to all major and
minor league games. George M. Trautman, president of the National
Association of Professional Baseball Clubs announced in May of that
year, that passes would be made available to "all players whose careers
were ended because of injuries or illness received in the line of duty."
Francis worked as a lobster fisherman in Prospect Harbor after the war.
He was inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame in December 1976.
Wilson Francis passed away on March 6, 2014, at Boothbay, Maine. He was
94 years old.
Date Added January 29, 2018
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