Baseball player Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox served in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War, circa 1952.
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After 9/11, Arizona Cardinals defensive back Pat Tillman gave up millions of dollars and going the Army. He was killed in Afghanistan.
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After being drafted in 1942, Jackie Robinson fought to enter Officers Candidate School while station in Kansas. While he didn’t fight overseas, Robinson fought against racism, he was acquitted in a military court-martial for refusing to move to the back of a bus.
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Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller enlisted in the Navy days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and served four years as a gunner.
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Yankees great Joe DiMaggio spent most of his time playing baseball after enlisting in the Army in 1943, entertaining troops like many other big named stars.
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Navy quarterback Roger Staubach wins the Heisman Memorial Trophy in 1963. Staubach did a tour of duty in Vietnam before joining the Dallas Cowboys in 1969.
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Heavyweight boxer Joe Louis is presented with the Legion of Merit medal by Major-General Clarence H Kells during a ceremony at Port Hamilton on Sept. 28, 1945. The award is in recognition of Louis’ ‘exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services’ during his tour of army camps and hospitals.
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Bobsledder Shauna Rohbock won a silver medal in the two-woman event and is a current staff sergeant in the Utah Army National Guard.
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Rocky Bleier was drafted after attending Notre Dame and was wounded in combat in Vietnam and awarded the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. He recovered and went on to win four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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Whitey Kurowski (L) and Red Barrett (R) are greeted by their former teammate Stan Musial who is in the United States Navy, upon their arrival at ATC Terminal, Honolulu, Hawaii circa 1945. The three played in baseball games to entertain troops.
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Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers served four years in the Army, missing peak years of his Hall of Fame baseball career.
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Tim James receives the Miami Heat’s Home Strong Program award which recognizes military members who have recently returned from deployments to Iraq or Afghanistan before the start of the game between the Miami Heat and the Denver Nuggets on March 19, 2011 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Fla. James served after his NBA career.
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Yogi Berra of the New York Yankees, one of the most successful players ever, served in the Navy during World War II.
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Baseball center fielder Willie Mays is inducted by Captain William F. Donegan Jr during a swearing ceremony at the First Army examining station on 39th Whitehall Street, New York on May 29, 1952. Mays was stationed in Virginia from 1952-54.
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Navy Midshipmen center David Robinson in action against Maryland in 1986. Robinson’s nickname is “The Admiral”. After graduating from the Naval Academy, Robinson served two years at a submarine base in Georgia as a civil engineer.
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Chad Hennings graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1988, became an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot and was deployed twice to the Persian Gulf. Based out of Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, Hennings flew 45 combat missions in support of Operation Provide Comfort, the effort to provide relief and humanitarian aid to Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq. He won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys.
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Larry Doby was the second Black baseball player to break the color barrier when he signed with the Cleveland Indians in July 1947. From 1943 through 1946, Doby served in the Navy. He was stationed at Great Lakes Naval Training School in Illinois, then Treasure Island Naval Base in San Francisco Bay, California. He also was assigned to Navy units in Ogden, Utah, and San Diego.
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Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva (78) played eight years in the NFL after graduating from West Point and reaching the rank of Captain.
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James Robert (Bob) Kalsu was an 8th round draft pick for the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League. He joined the U.S. Army after the 1968 season and was killed in Vietnam in 1970.
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Former World Heavyweight Champion boxer Jack Dempsey served in the US Coast Guard during World War II.
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Possibly the greatest college basketball coach of all time, John Wooden served three years as a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II.
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Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander served as a sergeant in the Army’s 342 Field Artillery Regiment fighting in France during World War I.
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Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura salutes Naval Officers he invited to his inaugural after taking the oath of office to become Minnesota’s 38th governor at the State Capitol Monday afternoon Jan. 4, 1999 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The former professional wrestler served in the navy during Vietnam between 1969-1975 as part of an Underwater Demolition Team, later known as SEAL Team.
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