Lou Brissie: A Hero & All-Star of the Baseball United Era
Lou Brissie was a highly recruited collegiate pitcher who put his career on hold to join the army during WWII. While fighting in the mountains of northern Italy, he was struck by shrapnel from a German shell and suffered a devastating leg injury. Doctors insisted on amputating but Brissie defied them, refusing to give up on his MLB dream.
In 1947, after countless surgeries, he made his major league debut for the Philadelphia Athletics at Yankee Stadium.
In a 1948 game against the Boston Red Sox, Ted Williams, a veteran himself, hit a line drive off Brissie’s leg brace. Williams recalled this incident with Brissie, saying “Here’s this war hero, pitching a great game. He sees me in the crowd, looking down at him, my face like a haunt. He says, ‘For chrissakes, Williams, pull the damn ball.’” Brissie would stay on the mound and get the win with a complete-game four-hitter.
He went on to pitch 7 seasons in the majors, making the All-Star Game in 1949. A man of boundless perseverance, Lou Brissie symbolizes the Baseball United era.
From this iconic time in American sports history, we were inspired to create the Baseball United Collection. This line of ’47 CAPTAIN RF caps showcases MLB team logos of the World War eras. Just like the patriotic inspired patches adopted on to uniforms, we designed a patriotic logos for each war period.
Explore this collection inspired by the history of American society, and it’s national pastime, baseball. Available at 47brand.com.
