Dee Loveless
Ballplayers Wounded in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | March 24, 1918 Lewis County, TN |
| Date and Place of Death: | November 7, 2009 Columbia, TN |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Third Base |
| Rank: | Corporal |
| Military Unit: | 112th Cavalry Regiment US Army |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
Ferrell Deason “Dee” Loveless, the son of W. H. and Mavis Loveless, was
born on March 24, 1918, in Lewis County, Tennessee. He attended Lewis
County High School, where he excelled in football and basketball, while
playing American Legion baseball. Loveless was quarterback and captain
of the football team his senior year, and no opponent scored on them the
entire season. Loveless signed, and played only briefly due to a sore
arm, with the Owensboro Oilers of the Class D Kitty League in 1937. He
had been playing on the sandlots of Nashville, when he returned to minor
league baseball in 1939, appearing in five games with the Chattanooga
Lookouts of the Class A1 Southern Association. In 1940, he was with the
Thomasville Tourists of the Class D Georgia-Floria League, playing 127
games and batting .281. He was with the Selma Cloverleafs of the Class B
Southeastern League in 1941, and played 136 games at third base, batting
.277.
Loveless entered military service on January 14, 1942. He served with
the 112th Cavalry Regiment in the Southwest Pacific, and was wounded in
the arm and neck at New Britain, on January 4, 1944. He returned home
with a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, but his hopes of playing
professional baseball were at an end.
Loveless worked as an electrician for the Monsanto Chemical Company, and
played baseball for the Monsanto Chemical Maulers for 12 years. He
managed the team in 1953 and 1954, leading them to a National Baseball
Congress eighth-place ranking both years. For 42 years, he was a member
of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA), having
been a charter member of the organization. He officiated football,
basketball, baseball and softball games, and was recognized as the “dean
of TSSAA football officials in the mid-state.”
Dee Loveless passed away peacefully at his home in Columbia, Tennessee,
on November 7, 2009, following a brief illness. He was 91 years old and
is buried at Polk Memorial Gardens in Columbia.
Date Added February 2, 2018
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