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FatJack · 02-10-2017, 06:44 PM

Bill Endicott passed away in November of 2016. Signed by the Cardinals in 1937, Bill was tearing up the minor leagues and was called up to the majors for a cup of coffee in September 1941. Unfortunately, he was called up by the draft board first.

Bill didn't get back to the states until 1946. The Cardinals kept him on the major league roster the entire season, but, as it turned out, Bill had broken his shoulder while in the Army and couldn't throw anymore. So he was used as a pinch hitter and got only 20 at bats for the entire season.

You might ask why the Cardinals would carry an outfielder who couldn't throw for an entire year. Well, the truth is that there was a law or regulation that the government had put in place at the outset of the war that said players on the major league 40 man roster at the time they began their service in the war effort were to be guaranteed a spot on the active roster upon their return. They could choose to go to the minors (for playing time or whatever), but that choice was theirs, not the club's. It was one of those occasions where the government leveraged the anti-trust exemption to get MLB to (pun intended) play ball.

As it happened, Bill had actually had a decent spring training and, though he knew his arm was sore, didn't realize his shoulder was broken until after the season began (an injury he aggravated crashing into the wall on a catch).

Come 1947, Bill was back in the minors. But it wasn't long before he concluded that the shoulder wasn't getting any better and, thanking the Cards for their patience with him, Bill retired.

This colorization is another example of the final product being largely determined by the quality of the beginning photo. Although a different example of this image has been posted on this site, this one came from eBay and I used it because it offered better contrast. Still, when I tried to color the birds on the bat, the result of the lighter bird looked ridiculous, causing me to choose to blend a photographed version of the uni front. I also used one of the GIMP filters to smooth out the roached facial features. Card size, it looks OK, but blowing it up larger it tend to look like a bad impressionistic painting or something. It is what it is.

02-10-2017, 06:44 PM	#1431
FatJack All Star Reserve Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 847	Bill Endicott Bill Endicott passed away in November of 2016. Signed by the Cardinals in 1937, Bill was tearing up the minor leagues and was called up to the majors for a cup of coffee in September 1941. Unfortunately, he was called up by the draft board first. Bill didn't get back to the states until 1946. The Cardinals kept him on the major league roster the entire season, but, as it turned out, Bill had broken his shoulder while in the Army and couldn't throw anymore. So he was used as a pinch hitter and got only 20 at bats for the entire season. You might ask why the Cardinals would carry an outfielder who couldn't throw for an entire year. Well, the truth is that there was a law or regulation that the government had put in place at the outset of the war that said players on the major league 40 man roster at the time they began their service in the war effort were to be guaranteed a spot on the active roster upon their return. They could choose to go to the minors (for playing time or whatever), but that choice was theirs, not the club's. It was one of those occasions where the government leveraged the anti-trust exemption to get MLB to (pun intended) play ball. As it happened, Bill had actually had a decent spring training and, though he knew his arm was sore, didn't realize his shoulder was broken until after the season began (an injury he aggravated crashing into the wall on a catch). Come 1947, Bill was back in the minors. But it wasn't long before he concluded that the shoulder wasn't getting any better and, thanking the Cards for their patience with him, Bill retired. This colorization is another example of the final product being largely determined by the quality of the beginning photo. Although a different example of this image has been posted on this site, this one came from eBay and I used it because it offered better contrast. Still, when I tried to color the birds on the bat, the result of the lighter bird looked ridiculous, causing me to choose to blend a photographed version of the uni front. I also used one of the GIMP filters to smooth out the roached facial features. Card size, it looks OK, but blowing it up larger it tend to look like a bad impressionistic painting or something. It is what it is. Attached Images