Don Gaab
Ballplayers Wounded in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | March 18, 1926 Zanesville, OH |
| Date and Place of Death: | February 6, 1993 Cleveland, OH |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | First Base |
| Rank: | Private First-Class |
| Military Unit: | US Army |
| Area Served: | Eureopean Theater of Operations |
Donald F. “Ty” Gaab, the son of Carl and Bertha
Gaab, was born on March 18, 1926, in Zanesville, Ohio. Don was a
basketball star at St. Nicholas High School in Zanesville and played
first base on the American Legion team as well as the Hoffman Roofers of
the Eastern Ohio League.
Gaab graduated from high school in 1944, and the
slick fielding first baseman was one of three Zanesville youngsters
signed by manager Clay Bryant to play for the Newark Moundsmen of the
Class D Ohio State League.
Replacing the injured Jack Pavlecic at first base,
Gaab – just 18 years old - played in 10 games and batted .167 before
requesting his release.
Gaab returned to Zanesville where he continued to
play with the Hoffman Roofers before entering military service in August
1944.
Gaab served in Europe as a private first class with
the army and was seriously wounded in combat in France on March 9, 1945.
His right arm was shattered and he also received injuries to his left
leg. Gaab was hospitalized in France then the United States.
With his baseball career over, he entered the
printing trade in January 1946
and worked in the composing room of the Zanesville Signal newspaper.
Around 1958, he moved with his wife, Ruth, and their two children to
Massillon, Ohio, where he worked for the Evening Independent newspaper.
After retiring from the print trade, Don and Ruth
lived in Sebring, Florida during the winter months, and he worked as a
courier for Citizen Savings Bank in Massillon from around 1985.
A member of the Disabled American Veterans, Don
Gaab died at the Cleveland Clinic on February 6, 1993, after a short
illness. He was 66 years old. Services were held at St. Joan of Arc
Catholic Church with burial at Mount Olive Cemetery in Zanesville.
Ruth passed away in June 2000.
Date Added April 1, 2020
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