Service over Glory

When Pearl Harbor was bombed, one of the Americans who volunteered to serve his country was Bob Feller. Bob was a 23-year-old pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, a phenomenon who had already pitched a no-hitter and won 107 games in the Major Leagues.

Bob was reaching his peak years as an athlete, but he gave up those years to shoot down planes in the Pacific. When he returned to baseball after serving his country, Bob went on to throw three no-hitters, 12 one-hitters, and win 266 games.

But his years of military service—during which he could have won another 80-100 games—cost Bob…