Warren Jacoby
Ballplayers Wounded in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | April 7, 1921 Neodesha, KS |
| Date and Place of Death: | July 20, 2008 Springfield, IL |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Private First-Class |
| Military Unit: | US Marine |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
Warren W. Jacoby was born in Neodesha, Kansas, on April 7, 1921. He
graduated from Manual High School in 1939, and pitched for the Milgram
Food Stores championship teams in the Ban Johnson League in 1939 and
1940.
He played minor league baseball in 1941, pitching for three different
teams in the Class D Evangeline League - Opelousas Indians, Rayne Rice
Birds and New Iberia Cardinals, hurling a four-hitter for Opelousas
against Port Arthur on April 29. The following season - 1942 - he
advanced to the Class B South Atlantic League with the Augusta Tigers
and made five appearances on the mound for an 0-2 record.
With the United States at war, Jacoby enlisted in the Marine Corps at
the end of the season and was stationed in San Diego, California.
Military life obviously suited the 21-year-old as he was appointed a
drill instructor in October 1942. "I am now a Corporal, starting today,"
he wrote his parents that month, "and will be an instructor. We had a
big inspection this morning and turned in all our equipment. Am moving
all my stuff in the morning over to my new quarters. They are right
above officers mess hall where I will eat. Two of us will be in a room
together . . . am going to have . . . my stripes put on coat and
shirts."
Due to circumstances unknown, Jacoby was reduced to the rank of Private
First-Class a short while later and was assigned to the 14th Replacement
Battalion. From there he joined Company B, 6th Pioneer Battalion of the
6th Marine Division and was soon in combat. During this time he began
collecting Japanese battlefield souvenirs and sent helmets, coffee pots
and artillery shells home to his parents. On July 21, 1944, on Guam,
Jacoby was shot in the pitching arm (his left arm), but was able to use
the arm to write home to let his parents know.
Pfc. Jacoby was again in action at Okinawa, but on April 27, 1945, he
was removed from the battlefield due to combat fatigue and placed under
medical care. He returned to the United States and was at Norman,
Oklahoma when he received his discharge.
Now aged 25, Jacoby tried to return to professional baseball. He was
with the Wilkes-Barre Barons of the Class A Eastern League for spring
training before joining the Joplin Miners of the Class C Western
Association where he made four appearance for a 1-0 record before being
released in July. He finished the season with the Clinton Blues of the
Class D Tobacco State League, where he was 0-2 in three appearances.
After baseball, Jacoby settled in Kansas City, Missouri, where he worked
as a credit manager for a jewelry company. He passed away on July 20,
2008, in Springfield, Illinois, aged 87. Warren Jacoby is buried at Camp
Butler National Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.
Private First-Class Warren Wesley Jacoby
Date Added August 29, 2024
Can you add more information to this biography and help make it the best online resource for this player? Contact us by email
Read Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice Through The Years - an online year-by-year account of military related deaths of ballplayers
Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice is associated with Baseball Almanac
Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice is proud to be sponsored by
.jpg)
