{"product_id":"the-gas-and-flame-men-baseball-and-the-chemical-warfare-service-during-world-war-i-hardcover","title":"The Gas and Flame Men: Baseball and the Chemical Warfare Service During World War I - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJim Leeke\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the United States officially entered World War I in 1917, it was woefully underprepared for chemical warfare, in which the British, French, and Germans had been engaged since 1915. In response, the U.S. Army created an entirely new branch: the Chemical Warfare Service. The army turned to trained chemists and engineers to lead the charge--and called on an array of others, including baseball players, to fill out the ranks. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Gas and Flame Men\u003c\/i\u003e is the first full account of Major League ballplayers who served in the Chemical Warfare Service during World War I. Four players, two club executives, and a manager served in the small and hastily formed branch, six of them as gas officers. Remarkably, five of the seven--Christy Mathewson, Branch Rickey, Ty Cobb, George Sisler, and Eppa \"Jeptha\" Rixey--are now enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, New York. The son of a sixth Hall of Famer, player and manager Ned Hanlon, was a young officer killed in action in France with the First Gas Regiment. Prominent chemical soldiers also included veteran Major League catcher and future manager George \"Gabby\" Street and Boston Braves president and former Harvard football coach Percy D. Haughton. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Gas and Flame Men\u003c\/i\u003e explores how these famous baseball men, along with an eclectic mix of polo players, collegiate baseball and football stars, professors, architects, and prominent social figures all came together in the Chemical Warfare Service. Jim Leeke examines their service and its long-term effects on their physical and mental health--and on Major League Baseball and the world of sports. \u003ci\u003eThe Gas and Flame Men\u003c\/i\u003e also addresses historical inaccuracies and misperceptions surrounding Christy Mathewson's early death from tuberculosis in 1925, long attributed to wartime gas exposure. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJim Leeke\u003c\/b\u003e is a former news journalist, a retired copywriter and creative director, and a U.S. Navy veteran. He is the author of several books, including \u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e Turtle \u003ci\u003eand the\u003c\/i\u003e Dreamboat (Potomac Books, 2022), \u003ci\u003eThe Best Team Over There: The Untold Story of Grover Cleveland Alexander and the Great War\u003c\/i\u003e (Nebraska, 2021), and \u003ci\u003eFrom the Dugouts to the Trenches: Baseball during the Great War\u003c\/i\u003e (Nebraska, 2017).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.18 x 9.13 x 5.98 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 01, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51759104688416,"sku":"9781640126053","price":32.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/4bafed8ae62cb633b4efd18dd6960787.webp?v=1780142567","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-gas-and-flame-men-baseball-and-the-chemical-warfare-service-during-world-war-i-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}