Portal May 6, 2023 12:41 PM ET2 Minute Read
The Navy christened the USS Cooperstown Saturday and paid tribute to all military veterans — including the 70 members of the Baseball Hall of Fame who gave up their baseball careers to serve in the military.
The ceremony will take place in New York City, where players like Ted Williams and Bob Feller will no doubt be remembered. Williams flew 37 combat missions in World War II and Korea, and Feller missed four seasons to serve in the Army and enlisted after the Pearl Harbor bombing in 1941.
USS Cooperstown joins the active fleet of Freedom variant littoral ships. The Department of Defense describes LCS ships as “fast, optimally crewed, mission-tailored surface combatants operating in coastal and open ocean environments.”
Johnny Bench and Joe Torre represented their fellow Hall of Famers at the ceremony.
“I can’t tell you what an honor it will be to represent the Hall of Fame,” Bench told USA Today ahead of the event. “It’s going to be an amazing, amazing thing. You look at guys like Ted Williams and Bob Feller and Jerry Coleman who gave up all these years of their careers and their lives to come forward and fight for our freedom.”
Bench’s father served in the military for eight years.
The list of baseball players who served on active duty for the United States reads like a who’s who of baseball. Among them are Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, Tris Speaker and George Sisler who fought in World War I. During World War II, Williams and Feller were supported by a roster that included Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Larry Doby, Stan Musial, and Jackie Robinson.
Ernie Banks and Willie Mays are among those who served in Korea.
Staterooms on the 351-foot ship are named after Hall of Famers and have a replica of their Cooperstown plaques on their doors.
The motto of the USS Cooperstown is “America’s Away Team”.
The nearest port is Mayport, Florida.