by Gary Moore
Praise for Playing with the Enemy …
“A true story of one man’s reaching out to the enemy during a very dark time in our history. Gene Moore and his fellow sailors teach all of us that compassion and tolerance does exist, especially when the bridge builder happens to be that great American pastime: baseball. History and baseball buffs alike will revel in this episode of man’s ability to reach out, even during a time of war.”
—Gerald R. Molen, Academy Award-winning producer of Schindler’s List
“Playing with the Enemy is a story of the American Dream—the power, the pain, the sacrifice, the triumph, and most of all, the heart. It’s about making peace with your enemies and, in Gene Moore’s case, the story of a man learning to make peace with himself. A great read.”
—James Riordan, author of The New York Times bestseller Break on Through: The Life & Death of Jim Morrison
“Gary Moore’s touching book about his father’s baseball career reminds us that life is all about second chances and people inspiring each other to chase their dreams…. I loved Playing with the Enemy. You will, too.”
—Baseball legend Jim Morris, former pitcher for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
“Being mayor of the small town of Sesser for 30 years I enjoyed this well written story about life in a simpler time. Gene Moore’s desire to make it to the big leagues of baseball landed him a starring roll in the big league of life. This is a heart warming true story you don’t want to miss.”
—Ned Mitchell, Mayor, Sesser, Illinois
“Playing with the Enemy SOARS! Any man who ever played catch with his dad will be reminded of the powerful bond between fathers and sons—and how sports can bring them together. A moving story of love and loss, Playing with the Enemy is a classic all-American sports tale that encourages us to remember where we came from—and more importantly, where we can go.”
—David Ranes, Producer / Screenwriter
“A superlative book…. Gary Moore’s epic story about his father reminds one of the importance of dreams and self-sacrifice.”
—Steve Canter, Baseball Agent
“Gene Moore was a great baseball player and a dear friend. I fondly remember watching him play behind the plate at the Sesser “Lumberyard” while I sat in the stands picking my guitar. His son Gary has captured the people and places perfectly. I love Playing with the Enemy, and I know you will, too.”
—Billy Grammer, international recording artist, star of the Grand Ole Opry, and inventor of “The Grammer Guitar”
“Good writing is storytelling, and Playing with the Enemy tells a story well. Sports fans will love it for its portrait of the minor leagues and the long-forgotten days when town baseball was everything. With its tremendous plot full of twists and turns, this story touches on lost dreams and found family.”
—Phil Angelo, Senior Editor, The Daily Journal (Kankakee, Illinois)
“A baseball passion play in everybody’s wheelhouse. A small town American dream turned into a persecution only to be rescued by a woman working through heartache herself.”
—Bob McNamara, Veteran CBS News Correspondent
“Playing with the Enemy is the best book I have read in the last decade. It is a great story told with sensitivity and well constructed prose. Moore captured the spirit and heart of his father’s story through the use of insightful dialog that gives real understanding to the life experiences and to the people in the story. The book is alive with emotions. It grabs your heart and will not let go of it.”
—William H. McDonald, President, Military Writers Society of America
“When we consider the amazing achievement of what has come to be known as ‘the Greatest Generation,’ it’s easy to forget they were individual flesh and blood human beings, young people whose dreams were interrupted by the need to save the world. Playing with the Enemy is the compelling story of one such young American, an astoundingly gifted athlete who found himself fighting a war when he would have preferred to have been battling opposing players on the baseball diamond. Amusing at times, sad at others, but always heartwarming, it is a uniquely American and personal story of one man—one of many who sacrificed so much for our freedom.”
—Teri O’Brien, WLS 890 AM, Chicago
“Pick this book up. I dare you to put it down! Gary Moore’s riveting account of his father’s triumphs, his tragedies, his talent, his gritty personality, and his great love of the game of baseball is an instant classic. If you enjoyed “The Rookie,” “The Natural,” “Rudy,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Cinderella Man,” or any story about athletics and the human spirit, you will not forget Playing with the Enemy.”
—Bill Guertin, author and CEO of The 800-Pound Gorilla
“Playing with the Enemy is the real-life story of Gary Moore’s father, Warren E. ‘Gene’ Moore. The elder Moore was recruited by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1940 at fifteen years old, but his baseball dream was cut short when the United States entered WWII. Moore’s tale is a heartwarming story of a baseball tragedy, turned real-life triumph.”
—Marilee McInnis, Southwest Airlines SPIRIT Magazine
“Playing with the Enemy is bigger than just a baseball book. It’s a captivating story of a powerful man, a heroic family, a depression-era town, and a world at war. Gary Moore’s writing places readers in the middle of it all. Just as Ray Law’s forkball was unpredictable, Playing with the Enemy is unforgettable—a must “can’t put it down” read for everyone who loves history, baseball, and America.”
—Timothy Milner, President and General Manager, Milner Broadcasting
“Gene Moore earns the audience’s respect more for his humanity than his skill on the field. For Southern Illinoisans, it is a matter of pride to see the spirit and spunk of our slice of small-town America exemplified. The story’s hero lives out the values we hold dearer than fortune and fame—reminding us why we make the choices and sacrifices we do.”
—Marleen Shepherd, The Southern Illinoisan
“Gary Moore’s heartwarming story about his father’s life is an ‘E’ ticket—the one for admission to the best ride in the amusement park. Playing with the Enemy carries readers on a roller coaster ride through the highs and lows of a life well worth living. Thank you, Gary, for sharing with all of us this incredible success story.”
—Gloria Beverage, Editor, Folsom & El Dorado Hills Telegraphs
“Playing with the Enemy is a multifaceted narrative, a tale where several unlikely plot lines converge with intriguing—and at times, heartrending—results. Author Gary Moore sets up a brisk pace, advancing through the events of his father’s life with regard and care. The result is a pure joy to read. It surprises you—and then surprises you again—while you’re still nodding in thought over the previous pages. I highly recommend this genuine and touching account.”
—Neal Stevens, www.subsim.com
© 2006 by Gary W. Moore
© 2006 Illustrations by Val Laolagi
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. Any similarities between characters and real life occurrences are completely coincidental.
Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: 1-932714-24-3
Digital Edition ISBN: 978-1-61121-020-0
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Second printing
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This book is dedicated to Gene, Ward, David and Brian Moore, Kenneth Jenkins, Harold Bright, Bill Wigant, Bob Jackson, Luther Watson, Chuck Ellens, George Langlois, Roger and Jim Roussell, Curtis Carter, Skip Swoverland, Doug Lindt, Paul Litteau, Bill Stark, Captain James Haigh, Lieutenant Colonel Stu Leach, Technical Sergeant Kyle Day, Technical Sergeant Gerald L. McIntosh, Harold Shirk, Mark Ray, Tom Billadeau, Scott Swaim, Tony Hulls, Dan Hays, Thomas M. Rounds, Janice Mickelson, Ashley Rounds, William T. Franey, Dominic Tringali, Tony Manfredi, Larry Jansick, Emil Colosimo, Edward McNamara, Clarence Chizek, Anson White, Kent White, Kevin White, Kelly DiBella, John Brasel, Michael A. Savas, James E. O’Brien, Andy Lancaster, and all the men and women who willingly served our country in the armed forces of the United States of America. Like Gene and Ward, they put their lives on hold to do their duty. Some come back and pick up their lives where they left off; some lives are forever changed by the experience; and others do not come back at all.
Thank you to all who have, are and will serve. Your willingness to defend our country is inspirational.
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
Foreword by Jim Morris
Introduction by John C. Skipper
Chapter 1: The Letter
Chapter 2: July 21, 1941
Chapter 3: The Corner of Matthew and Mulberry
Chapter 4: Sunday, July 22, 1940
Chapter 5: Monday, August 6, 1940
Chapter 6: The Long Road to Carlisle
Chapter 7: In the Navy
Chapter 8: Team Navy!
Chapter 9: North Africa
Chapter 10: Casablanca
Chapter 11: War Games
Chapter 12: Rumors
Chapter 13: Reunion
Chapter 14: U-505
Chapter 15: Norfolk
Chapter 16: Camp Ruston, Louisiana
Chapter 17: Playing with the Enemy
Chapter 18: The Berlin Bombers
Chapter 19: We Have Guns!
Chapter 20: Kraut Ball!
Chapter 21: Fighting with the Enemy
Chapter 22: The Final Innings
Chapter 23: The Friendship Game
Chapter 24: The Broken Purple Heart
Chapter 25: Branch Rickey
Chapter 26: Home, Again
Chapter 27: Reality
Chapter 28: Return of a War Hero
Chapter 29: The Letter Arrives
Chapter 30: Dark Night of the Soul
Chapter 31: Resurrection
Chapter 32: Reporting to Greenville
Chapter 33: The Second Shot
Chapter 34: Getting Back the Game
Chapter 35: I Heard You Was a Hitter
Chapter 36: The Perfect Day
Chapter 37: The Day After Perfection
Chapter 38: Frank Boudreau
Chapter 39: Sacrifice Play
Chapter 40: Is That the Story You Expected to Hear?
Chapter 41: Old Friends
Chapter 42: The Death of the Boy Who Loved to Catch
Postscript
Photos and illustrations have been arranged throughout the text for the convenience of the reader.
Preface
History has little to say about Warren Eugene Moore. My father was born in Sesser, Illinois, on March 19, 1926, to John and Allie Moore. John and Allie had seven kids, five girls and two boys. Gene, as his friends and family called him, was the youngest of John and Allie’s two boys and their fifth child in the birth order. He was a veteran of World War II. He earned a Purple Heart, and he returned home a much different man than the enthusiastic boy he was when he left.
A quick glance at the “facts” of his life makes Gene sound like a typical veteran. He was anything but typical.
After the outbreak of World War II interrupted his young life, duty carried him from small town Southern Illinois to the Azores, North Africa, and Louisiana. Gene later entered the Veterans’ Administration Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, before returning home again. Unlike most veterans who came home and picked up their lives, Gene Moore’s life—his destiny—was forever altered. Because of an unfortunate series of events, our national pastime may also have been changed. What could have been was not to be.
I have tried my very best to write the most accurate story I could about Gene Moore’s life in baseball and war. But I was not there, and there are no audio or video tapes to review. Most of the research necessary to write this book came from conversations with my mom Judy Moore (Gene’s wife) that spanned many years; interviews with people from my dad’s hometown of Sesser, Illinois, and with others from around the country who knew my dad or knew of him; a letter dated 1949 from the Pittsburgh Pirates acknowledging that Gene had agreed to play baseball, that reporting instructions were on their way to him, and that Greenville, Mississippi, would be his destination; and finally, from Gene himself. My dad did not like to talk about his past, so his life story came out in small bites of information spread across three decades, and one hours-long conversation near the end of his life. All the typical secondary research was also performed in newspapers, books about baseball, etc.
Some names have been changed for all the usual reasons, and a few characters are composites of several people in an effort to represent the spirit of some of the men with whom my dad experienced his life. Admittedly, the scarcity of information makes it difficult to verify every account in this book, but I am confident the spirit of Gene’s life has been captured within these pages.
This is Gene Moore’s story.
Acknowledgements
Life is stranger than fiction. One afternoon, my wife, Arlene and I, stood in line at Los Angeles International Airport to catch our Southwest Airlines flight for Chicago and the drive home. A Southwest gate is my home away from home. In fact, the majority of this book was written during the scores of Southwest flights I have taken in the last two years as I traveled for business, or while sitting at a Southwest gate waiting for a plane to take me somewhere. The rest was written sitting alone in various hotels across the country.
As we stood in LAX waiting to board the plane, my cell phone rang. It was my oldest son Toby and his attorney on the other end. “Dad, this is Allison,” Toby told me. “She’s my attorney and she’ll be handling the contract for the screenwriter. Do you have a few minutes before you board?”
We carried on the conversation as if it were a normal occurrence, exchanged pleasantries, and hung up. Arlene and I boarded the plane and headed for home. As the plane, painted to resemble a Killer Whale, climbed out over the Pacific Ocean before turning east, I had an earth-shattering thought. “I have written a book about my father. I am fifty years old and have never written a book before this one. My son, Toby, who is an up-and-coming Hollywood actor, might play the part of my father—his grandfather—in a movie based upon the book I have written.” The fact that this was not a dream seemed almost incomprehensible to me.
The time I spent writing this book was an emotional roller coaster. My mother Judy (Gene’s wife) was dying. I wanted to finish it before she left us, but God had other plans. Judy Moore passed away January 3, 2004, about nine months before I finished the first draft.
I am a pure extrovert, so I hate being alone. Writing, however, is a long and often lonely process. As I clattered at my laptop remembering and writing about my mom and dad, I shed many tears and had many moments of sheer joy. I think the experience helped me come to terms with my father
’s early and sudden death, and helped me better cope with the opposite—the long agonizing deterioration of my mother. I knew they were special people and wonderful parents, but this experience helped me get to know them on a different level. The Fifth Commandment is, “Honor your Father and Mother.” I pray that I have done that.
There are many people to thank, and I may have inadvertently forgotten someone. If you do not find your name here, rest assured I appreciate all you have done for me and this book, and please excuse my oversight. Any errors are mine alone.
Judge Mike Kick, my friend since childhood, first suggested I write this book. During a discussion about our fathers, Mike said, “You know, that would make a great book, or even a great movie. You should write it.” I took his suggestion to heart. Thanks, Mike. I’m sure you never really thought I would write this, but don’t feel bad, because neither did I.
Tris Coburn, my literary agent, stepped in at a critical time and helped make it possible for this book to be published. I am looking forward to a long and successful relationship that goes far beyond this book. I am grateful.
Theodore “Ted” Savas, Sarah Stephan, Jim Zach, and everyone else associated with Savas Beatie LLC, helped make this book better. Ted read the manuscript, offered many developmental editing suggestions, and took a chance on an unknown author. Like Tris, Ted and his team have become great friends and wonderful teammates. I am grateful for his willingness to publish this book. Ted, I pray that your faith in me will be rewarded in countless ways.
Without my knowing it, and as a surprise to me, my publisher arranged with his friend, neighbor, and fellow baseball coach Val Laolagi to produce the inspiring original illustrations that accompany this book. Val is a gifted artist, whose work only served to make this a better product all the way around. This book is about destiny and a man’s calling. I think I know what yours is, Val. Thank you for helping memorialize my father’s life story.
The enthusiasm and creativity of my publicist, Carole Bartholomeaux and Bartholomeaux/PR, is unequalled. She always kept her head whenever I was losing mine. I am grateful to you, Carole, for all your help.