The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-18
BASEBALL MEN AS
OFFICERS IN ARMY
Major T. L. Huston, Part Own
er Of Yankees, Most No
table of Large Group.
PAL OF MAJOR-GEN. WOOD
NJ sHORTsT0P.


ers now In Uncle Sans service are just
buck privates and ordinary seamen. pro-
tessionai baseball also is well repre-
scented among the commissioned officers
OF both branches of the service. but
particularly in the army.
Especially have New York fans reason
10 feel proud Of the number OF its base
ball men who are listed among the ma
tons officers. Foremost Of these OF
course IL Major Tiliinghast l.. Huston.
half owner OF the Yankees and real
fighting man. who 10 now serving vail
antS with the Engineers In France;
Major. Huston--he was just plain
Cap" until a few months ago-is
veteran Of the Spanish American war,
having been In command OF an engineer
company when the American forces en-
! tered Havana In the summer OF 1898.
1t was Illusions duty to clean up
Havana, and he made splendid Job OF
il. Huston formed a friendship with
Major.Gen. leonard Wood in his Span
ish American war days. when Wood was
Colonel Of the famous Rough Riders.
which has ripened with years. Before
tho United States entered the world war
Huston was one Of Gen. Woods greatest
apostles for preparedness and his Idea
OF drilling ball players was largely TO
bring preparedness before the public.
On the Same day that Congress de-
clared n state OF war with Germany
Huston offered his services to the War
Department and shortly after the start
OF the 1917 season he lett for Detroit.
where a regiment Of engineers from the
middle West was being gathered.
The Engineers were the first troops
to 60 abroad, following closely Gen.
Pershing and his stan, and Huston was
in command Of his company as the en-
gineer regiment swept down Piocadiily
London. the first foreign troops to march
through London since the days OF WILL
| lam the Conqueror.
Neither Huston nor his regiment tar
ried long in Britain. but proceeded
across the Channel and soon were nj
work constructing railroads behind the
old Won Hintanburg line near Cambria
1t was after the British advance on
| Cambria had been .net ny counter Of
| fensive by the Germans thai the Engt-
neers proved their mettle as they dropped
| their shovels, picked up guns and helped
close gap the Huns were breaking
through. II was largely through his
a BILE work during those adventurous
times that Huston won his promotion
! from Captain to Major.
Giants as Leaders of Men.
| The Giants have quite q collection Of
officers among their alumni, headed by
Capt. Edward Grant Others are Fist
I.,euts. Harry Mccormick, Fred Brain
ard and Steve Royce.
Grant and Mccormick entered the
First officers Training Camp at Platts-
burg shortly after the United States de-
clared war. Both are college men,
Grant an alumnus Of Harvard. where he
captained the Crimson baseball team,
and Mccormick. from Christy Mathew
| sons alma mater. Bucknell.
Grant left the camp as Captain. his
old rank at Harvard. and Mccormick
was commissioned a First Lieutenant.
Grant was placed In command of a
company OF New York boys at Camp
! Upton and was one Of the most highly
respected officers in the camp. The Up
! ton Division, OF which Grant was a
member was the first National Army
unit to 60 across and Is now exchangr
ing shells with the Huns In the Lor-
raine sector.
Harry Mccormick. McGraw's old pinch
hitter. has perhaps seen more real fight
Ing than any former baseball player
with the exception of Clff Markle, the
| former Yankee pitcher now with the
J Marines, who was wounded at Chateau
, Thierry while helping defend the road
TO Paris
Mccormick was assigned 10 the Reg
tilar Army after leaving Plattsburg last
summer and Immediately was sent
abroad, where ne has seen lots of fight
ing. especially in recent months A
shell exploded near him and impaired
his sight. He was sent homo and ar.
rived in New York last week. He also
has suffered from shock. Mccormick
wears n chevron on his sleeve. indl-
eating that he was wounded. but looks
tanned, hearty and hard as nails. For
the present he will be on duty on this
| side of the water.
Fred Brainard. who was with the
Giants for several seasons as utility in
fielder and for a time was regular third
baseman, also won First Lieutenancy
at a training camp last summer, Fred
was paying with Providence last sum
mer when he heard the call, and en-
rolled at the officers training camp at
Leon Springs. Tex. He now is First
Lieutenant with field artillery regi-
ment composed OF Texas National Army
men.
Steve Royce, now a Lieutenant in the
Aviation Corps, Is not known SO well to
Giant fans. Royce spent the 1916 sea
son learning baseball from the Giants
bench, and pitching in the Long Branch
and other exhibition games. Royce is a
product OF Hamilton College, where he
was quite u pitcher. However, after
spending one season on Il e Giant bench
Royce decided he didn't care to play ball
He goes up in the air now like a lot OF
other pitchers, but he takes a machine
gun and an assortment of bombs with
him.
Dodgers In the Service.