Bob Mayence
Ballplayers Wounded in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | November 29, 1921 Shreveport, LA |
| Date and Place of Death: | February 1985 Shreveport, LA |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Second Base |
| Rank: | Corporal |
| Military Unit: | 2nd Marine Division USMC |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
Robert E. Mayence was born on November 29, 1921, in Shreveport,
Louisiana. A 1940 graduate of Byrd High School in Shreveport, Mayence
signed with the El Dorado Oilers of the Class C Cotton States League in
1941 for a promising rookie year. In 124 games at second base – mostly
as the Oilers’ lead-off hitter - he batted .289 with 30 doubles and 50
RBIs.
Spotted by Detroit scouts, he signed a contract at the end of the season
to play in the Tigers’ organization, but everything changed when the
Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Putting his baseball career on hold, the
20-year-old enlisted with the Marines and was assigned to the 2nd Marine
Division. Serving in the Pacific, Corporal Mayence took part in the
Guadalcanal campaign and then the Battle of Tarawa in November 1943, where around 1,000 Marines were
killed.
During the early months of 1944, his mind briefly returned to baseball
and he even found time to send scouting reports to the Detroit Tigers
about Marine ballplayers who were good looking prospects in service
games.
In June 1944, the 2nd Marine Division invaded Saipan where they met
fierce resistance from the Japanese. Hit by machine-gun fire, Mayence
had his right shoulder shattered and lost his right eye. He spent 17
months in hospitals overseas and in the United States, enduring five
operations. During this time he was recognized by The Sporting News as
baseball's Hero of the Month. From his bed at the US Naval Hospital in Seattle, Mayence
wrote to Jack Zeller, general manager of the Tigers:
“Dear Mr Zeller:
“I am writing to request that I be placed on your voluntarily retired
list. I will be unable to continue my baseball career. I lost my right
eye and the use of my right arm in the action at Saipan. I had looked
forward anxiously to playing for your team, and I want to thank you for
the interest you have shown in me.”
Zeller promised Mayence a job as a scout but a change in general
managers ended the opportunity. Refusing to let a serious handicap keep
him from being a useful citizen, he later worked for the Veterans
Administration helping other disabled veterans to readjust to civilian
life and was selected as the “Hero of the Month” by the DAV (Disabled
American Veterans) in January 1949.
In 1948, Mayence 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."
From 1960 until 1964, he served as the Assistant Director of the
Louisiana Department of Veteran Affairs.
Bob Mayence – a true hero who displayed the same fighting spirit in life
as he did on the ballfield and the battlefield – passed away in
Shreveport, Louisiana, in February 1985, aged 63.
Thanks to Bob Mayence's son, Bob, for help with this biography.
Date Added December 15, 2017 Updated March 30, 2018
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