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This is Retro Sports Radio. Visit retroseasons.com for more sports history.

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It's difficult to pinpoint a tough situation for a pitcher. Naturally, a base is loaded

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with no out situation and a bottom of the night to be a nightmare for any pitcher. But

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how about a pitcher who must join his club late in the season after say four years in

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his service. No spring training, no exhibitions, no major league tune-ups of any kind. Well,

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I know how it feels because I was in that kind of a situation August 14th, 1945. I was

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back in my club, the Cleveland Indians, and my manager Lou Boudreau, now laid me to face

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the league-leading Detroit Tigers. I took my warm-up pitches and I knew I'd find out soon

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enough if I had it. The first Detroit batter, Jimmy Allaw, was a strikeout victim. I felt

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good. The second batter was out on a fly to center field. Then, Doc Cramer caught hold

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of one of my fast balls and sent it to the deep right center for a triple. Hank Greenberg

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was the next batter. I knew I had my work cut out for me. I worked especially hard on

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Hank. I sent a strike past him. Then made him swing and miss one. Another pitch and Greenberg

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was caught looking. Then, he was over and Cramer was stranded on third. I had my first

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test, but there were eight more innings to go. My teammates touched opposing pitcher Hal

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Newhauser for two runs an hour and a half of the first inning. My control was a bit shaky

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as I faced the Tigers in the second inning and I walked the first two batters. Long ball

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hitting Rudy York was the next batter. I threw hard and Rudy swung and missed. Then another

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strike and finally at third. I had two more outs to go before I could get out of the inning

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safely. The next batter was a pop-up and so was the other. Paul Richards, now general manager

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of the Houston Colts, was the first Tiger batter in the third and he doubled. I walked the

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next batter. There was some activity in Indian bullpen and I knew it. I had to get out of

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this trouble myself, but a single scored one run and another hit set the tying run across.

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Somehow, I finished the inning without any more scoring. It was now 2-2, a brand new ball

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game. My teammates got me a run in the third inning and I was determined now to go all the

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way and win this one. I set the Tigers down without a hit in the fourth, then the fifth,

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sixth, seventh and eighth. I was really rolling along, but I still had the night heading to go.

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In 60 seconds, I'll be back for the final inning of a game I will always remember. My teammates

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had picked up another run for me and the Indians led 4-2 as I went to the mound for the

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night inning. I retired the first batter. Now I had two to go. The second man was a strikeout

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victim. My fast ball was sizzling and my arm appeared to be getting stronger as the

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innings rolled along. Lead off man Jimmy Outlaw was next. I reared back and fired. He swung

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out of the miss. The next pitch tipped the outside corner for a called strike. Only one

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more to go. I was ready, but so was Outlaw. The pitch, strike three. My return from the

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war was a big success. I knew then I still had a lot of good pitching left in my right

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arm and the almost four year hit to the Navy did not hurt me.