• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar

New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Adirondacks & NNY
  • Capital-Saratoga
  • Mohawk Valley
  • Hudson Valley & Catskills
  • NYC & Long Island
  • Western NY
  • History
  • Nature & Environment
  • Arts & Culture
  • Outdoor Recreation
  • Food & Farms
  • Subscribe
  • Support
  • Submit
  • About
  • New Books
  • Events
  • Podcasts

When Fort Ontario Was A Baseball Powerhouse

April 11, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Fort Niagara baseball teamDuring World War II, when many athletes went into military service, the military post at the Fort Ontario State Historic Site became a regional baseball powerhouse, due in part to the posting there of former professional and minor league ballplayers, even including a former starting pitcher for the New York Yankees.

More than 4,500 professional players swapped flannels for military uniforms, including future Hall of Famers like Bob Feller, Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams.

More information about this bit of New York State’s baseball and military history can be found at the New York State Parks Blog, where weekly posts cover a variety of historical, natural, and other Parks topics.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: History, Western NY Tagged With: Baseball, Fort Ontario, Major League Baseball, Military History, Sports History, World War Two

About Editorial Staff

Stories written under the Editorial Staff byline are drawn from press releases and other notices. Submit your news to New York Almanack here.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Help Support Our Work

Subscribe to New York Almanack

Subscribe! Follow the New York Almanack each day via E-mail, RSS, Twitter or Facebook updates.

Recent Comments

  • David on Warren County Creates Website to Report Trail Problems
  • John Warren on Warren County Creates Website to Report Trail Problems
  • Phil Brown on Warren County Creates Website to Report Trail Problems
  • Phil Brown on Warren County Creates Website to Report Trail Problems
  • Tom Hughes on Hudson River Valley Institute Announces the Creation of Student Research Fund
  • Nicole on The Rise and Fall of NY’s Taylor Wine Company
  • Michael Devito on Summer in Historic Richmond Town Begins May 25th
  • Alan Levi on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End
  • Jeff on In Praise of Dandelions
  • Mark Levine on Catskills Resort History: The Beginning of the End

Recent New York Books

Spaces of Enslavement and Resistance in Dutch New York
ilion cover
Spare Parts
new yorks war of 1812
a prison in the woods cover
Visitors to My Street
Greek Fire
Building THe Ashokan Reservoir
ilion book cover
Bryan Jackson the Titanic Was Dooomed

Secondary Sidebar

preservation league
Protect the Adirondacks Hiking Guide