Feller signs up

Bob Feller, center, signs up 84 years ago today to serve in the Navy

As the sole support for this family back home in Van Meter, Iowa, Cleveland pitcher Bob Feller qualifies for a deferment from the military draft.

This is back in 1941 and the United States just enters World War II, so 84 years ago today Feller declines the deferment to become the first major leaguer to enlist in the draft.

Feller’s decision comes two days after Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor, an act that formally pushes the United States into the global war.

Feller is 23 at the time and coming off three straight 20-win seasons for Cleveland.

He spends the next three-plus seasons as a gun captain on the USS Alabama.

Feller returns to Cleveland late in the 1945 season to resume a Hall of Fame career that lasts through the 1956 season.

He finishes his career with 266 victories, a number that surely would exceed 300 if not for the war.

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