Chief Petty Officer Robert Feller (1918-2010)

Bob Feller is widely recognized as the greatest Cleveland Indian of all-time.  His baseball accomplishments speak for themselves.  He never pitched a game in the minor leagues, striking out 17 in a game as a 17-year old rookie with the Tribe.  He threw three no-hitters (one on Opening Day in 1940) and 12 one-hitters in his career.  His 1946 season was phenomenal, finishing the season with 26 wins, 348 strikeouts, 2.18 ERA, 36 complete games and 10 shutouts.  Feller was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1962 in his first year of eligibility.  He was renowned as one of the hardest throwing pitchers ever, earning him nicknames like Rapid Robert, Bullet Bob, and the Heater from Van Meter (Van Meter, Iowa being his home town).

For all of the important statistics and dates in his career, there is one that stands out as particularly amazing and inspirational...

December 8, 1941.

On that date, Bob Feller enlisted in the United States Navy, just hours after Pearl Harbor.  This tells me that to Feller, the decision to go off to war was a no-brainer.  Defending our country and our freedoms was a higher priority and of greater value to him than the baseball career that brought him such fame and wealth.  After basic training, he was assigned to the USS Alabama and fought in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters.  He missed four seasons in the prime of his career during his service. 

Rapid Robert died yesterday, a hero, a legend... an American patriot.