Bob Wooten

Ballplayers Wounded in Combat

Robert G. “Bob” Wooten was born in 1919 in Dallas, Texas. He signed a professional contract with the Refugio Oilers of the Class D Texas Valley League in 1938, and the 19-year-old first baseman batted just .142 his rookie year.

In March 1939, Wooten attended a baseball school in Waxahachie, Texas, run by former National League first baseman Ed Konetchy and Harry Wonderling. On March 10, 1939, the Waxahachie Daily Light described Wooten as a “peppy youngster who can use the mitt with unbelievable skill,” and added, “Bob is a towering all-around left-hander who shows promise at the plate also.”

Signed by the Fort Worth Cats, he played for Lamesa and Big Spring in the West Texas-New Mexico League that summer and batted .268 in 126 games. In March 1940, he was at spring training with the Texas League’s Dallas Rebels, but was released to the Tyler Trojans of the Class C East Texas League before being sent on option to the Opelousas Indians of the Class D Evangeline League. By May he was with the Rayne Rice Birds of the same league before joining the Cordele Bees of the Class D Georgia-Florida League, where he batted .255 in 80 games.

In 1941, Wooten enlisted with the Marine Corps and served as a corporal in the Pacific. He was wounded twice in action and also suffered from malaria and yellow jaundice. Corporal Wooten was discharged in 1945, and tried out with the New York Giants. He was assigned to the Jacksonville Jax of the East Texas League in 1946, where he batted .281.

In 1947, Wooten played for the Gainesville Owls of the Class B Big State League. He batted .238 in 68 games, his numbers suffering from a serious elbow injury when hit by a pitch in August. It was to be his last year in organized baseball.

Bob Wooten (third from left) with Joe Reha, George Spears and Doug Miller - Opelousa Indians, 1940

Date June 4, 2020

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