Len Worthington
Ballplayers Wounded in Combat
| Date and Place of Birth: | January 14, 1926 Lecompton, KS |
| Date and Place of Death: | October 25, 1984 Berryton, KS |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Corporal |
| Military Unit: | 6th Marine Division and 4th Marine Division US Marine Corps |
| Area Served: | Pacific Theater of Operations |
Leonard R. Worthington, the son of Charles and Rosa Worthington, was
born in Lecompton, Kansas, on January 14, 1926, where his father was a
farmer. He was a standout athlete at Berryton High School, playing
baseball, football and basketball.
Worthington enlisted with the Marine Corps following graduation in 1944.
He served in the Pacific Theater with the 6th Marine Division, and was
at Okinawa in 1945. Only 340 miles from mainland Japan, Okinawa was the
final amphibious landing of the war. It was also the largest in the
Pacific campaign and proved to be the bloodiest.
The 6th Marine Division landed at Okinawa on April 1, 1945, and met no
resistance, even though the island was defended by an estimated 100,000
Japanese. But that was soon to change.
Sugar Loaf Hill was a small, insignificant-looking mound of coral and
volcanic ash on Okinawa. It was 50-feet high and 300 yards long,
situated on the southern end of the island. The 6th Marine Division was
given the task of taking the mound, and it would prove devastatingly
costly. By the time the area was secured, 1,656 Marines would be dead
and another 7,429 wounded.
Corporal Worthington's squad leader and many of his buddies were killed
at Sugar Loaf Hill. During the heat of the battle, on May 13,
Worthington was severely wounded and reported missing in action. When he
was finally found, he was shipped to Guam for hospitalization.
That wasn't the end of his time as a Marine. Once he was sufficiently
recovered, and following the Japanese surrender, Worthington was
re-assigned to the 4th Marine Division, which was in Tsingtao (now
Qingdao), China, to assist the Chinese government with the surrender and
disarmament of Japanese troops. During the summer of 1946, in China,
Worthington had the opportunity to play baseball with his outfit's team.
Len Worthington returned to the United States, badly scarred; both
physically and emotionally. He had seen the horrors of war that no
19-year-old should ever have to face, and he decided to give
professional baseball a try. In 1947, he was pitching for an American
Legion team in Topeka, Kansas, when he was scouted by the local team,
the Topeka Owls of the Class C Western Association. The Owls gave the
right-handed curve-ball specialist a contract and assigned him to the
Miami Owls of the Class D K-O-M League. As the youngest member of the
pitching staff, at just 21, he made 31 appearances and won 15 games
against 11 losses as the Owls took the K-O-M League championship.
Worthington went to work for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad
during the off-season and, after is strong performance for Miami in
1947, looked forward to advancing to the Topeka Owls in 1948. He joined
the Topeka club for spring training, but was sent back to Miami for the
regular season. After a couple of appearances, a disillusioned
Worthington, quit professional baseball and returned to his railroad
job, playing semi-pro ball with the Decker Oilers. He worked for the
railroad for 32 years, and later worked as car salesman for Laird Noller
Ford in Topeka.
Len Worthington passed away in Berryton, Kansas, on October 25, 1984. He
was 58 years old and is buried at Lynn Creek Cemetery in Berryton.
"Leonard is now with his buddies whom he grieved for so many years,"
said his family. "He could never forget them and the way they fought for
their county."
The 1947 Miami Owls of the Class D K-O-M League
(Len Worthington is front row, second from left)
Thanks to John Hall for help with this biography and for the photo of the 1947 Miami Owls.
Date Added January 4, 2018
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
