The Corporal Was a Pitcher: The Courage of Lou Brissie

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TRIUMPH ORIGINAL VIDEO: Ira Berkow

 

The corporal was left for dead, along with the 11 others of his squad, after a German mortar attack in the freezing, unforgiving mountains of northern Italy on December 7, 1944. But hours after the Nazi infantry had retreated, one member of the American army's Graves Registration Unit picking up the corpses, turned over a body in a ditch and called to his officer, "Hey, this one's breathing."

 

It was 20-year-old Lou Brissie, from the small town of Ware Shoals, South Carolina. He was taken to a makeshift medical tent behind the front line and told that with such extensive damage his left leg would have to be amputated to save his life. He pleaded with the medics: "Please, you can't take my leg off. I'm a pitcher. I've been promised a chance to pitch in the big leagues." He explained that he had a letter from Connie Mack, owner-manager of the A's, as proof.

 

The decorated corporal couldn't walk on his own strength for nearly a year and would undergo upwards of 23 operations. He eventually began to throw a baseball while on crutches. All the time, he kept dear the dream of pitching in the major leagues.

 

Not only did he realize that dream, but in virtually implausible, genuinely inspirational pursuit of his goal, the left-handed Lou Brissie - wearing a huge brace on his left, partially immobile leg and now a strike-out ace - made the 1949 American League All-Star team on merit, along with such stars as Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, and Bob Feller.

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: BERKOW'S LATEST BOOK A 'SMART' READ
In case you missed the March 2 issue of Sports Illustrated, the magazine called Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ira Berkow’s latest book, The Corporal Was a Pitcher, the “smart” read of the week (pg 20).

“As told by Ira Berkow, [Lou] Brissie’s story is gripping and inspiring,” Sports Illustrated claims in its review.

The Corporal Was a Pitcher is the riveting, true story of Brissie who – after being left for dead in a ditch on the battlefields of northern Italy on Dec. 7, 1944, while fighting the retreating Nazis – became a member of the 1949 American League All-Star team as a strikeout ace, hurling his heat past the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. When war surgeons told Brissie he would die if they didn’t cut off his leg, Brissie refused amputation and fought through 23 operations to return to baseball.

“Brissie's story should be recommended reading for every major-leaguer,” wrote the Daily (Ill.) Herald’s Mike Imrem on Feb. 21. “Brissie just wanted to play baseball, and .. returned home with a damaged leg - and played in seven major-league seasons and the 1949 All-Star Game!”

Lou Brissie and Ira Berkow will be at a book signing together on March 7 at the Philadelphia A’s Historical Society (800-318-0483) and at Books-A-Million in Augusta, GA (706-481-9090) on April 18. More info.




A HORSE IS HORSE, OF COURSE, UNLESS THAT HORSE IS NAMED LOU BRISSIE
Lou Brissie has been a war hero, All-Star pitcher, and most recently came in second at the 68th Aiken Trials horse race. Well, okay, the latter Lou Brissie was actually a two-year-old Limehouse horse owned by Cot Campbell that was named after the famous baseball player. It all started less than a year ago when Campbell finished reading Ira Berkow's moving biography of Lou Brissie titled THE CORPORAL WAS A PITCHER. "I read the book about Lou Brissie and was greatly moved by his career and heroism in the war," Campbell said in a story reported by The Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle last month. "I contacted him; we had lunch and ended up becoming great friends." Campbell has high hopes for his horse and with a name like Lou Brissie who wouldn't think that success in his future? An online excerpt of the book, video with Berkow, and much more can be found on the offical page for THE CORPORAL WAS A PITCHER.

The Corporal Was a Pitcher PR
After suffering a catastrophic leg injury from mortar fragments in Italy during World War II, Lou Brissie pleaded with his doctor:

"You can't take my leg off.  I'm a ballplayer.  I can't play on one leg."
"You will die if we don't."
"Doc," Brissie said quietly, "I'll take my chances."

Lou Brissie's extraordinary story is one that takes you from the terrifying battlefields in Europe to the playing fields in Philadelphia.  Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ira Berkow brings together all of these unforgettable memories of a hero's life in The Corporal Was a Pitcher: The Courage of Lou Brissie, telling the tales of a man who overcame incredible odds with his leg in a protective metal case to realize his dream of pitching in the major leagues.

Brissie recounts amazing stories that are sure to captivate anyone who picks up The Corporal Was a Pitcher, including:

• His leg injury and how he was left for dead in the snow and mud of the Appenines in Italy
• The numerous surgeries and his improbable road to recovery
• His friendship with Connie Mack and the opportunity to pitch after his injury
• Being named to the 1949 All-Star team as member of the Philadelphia Athletics
• The big scare Brissie received when a Ted Williams line drive struck his wounded leg
• His regular visits for the past 60 years to both veteran's hospitals and children's hospital wards

Lou Brissie is a part of our nation's "greatest generation," and his stories from his time serving in World War II to playing professional baseball for the Philadelphia A's to visiting wounded veterans throughout his life make him a role model for everyone.  The Corporal Was a Pitcher is a must-read not only for baseball fans, but also for anyone looking to find inspiration from a man who never quit despite the odds being stacked so highly against him.

About the Author:
Ira Berkow, a sports columnist and feature writer for the New York Times for more than 25 years, won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 2001 and was a finalist for the Pulitzer for commentary in 1988. He is the author of 18 books, including the best sellers Red: A Biography of Red Smith and Maxwell Street: Survival in a Bazaar, as well as two memoirs, Full Swing and To the Hoop. Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life, cowritten and edited by Mr. Berkow and published by Triumph Books, was a primary source for the award-winning documentary The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg. Mr. Berkow lives in New York City.

CONTACT: Bill Ames, Triumph Books, 312.252.1248, b.ames@triumphbooks.com  

The Corporal Was a Pitcher Review

The Best Baseball Books of 2009

by Allen Barra, 3/29/09, San Francisco Chronicle

New York Times columnist Ira Berkow has written at least one bona fide baseball classic, "Red," a biography of sportswriter Red Smith, and co-written another, "Hank Greenberg: The Story of My Life." Lou Brissie, the subject of his new book, is much less celebrated, but his life was even more fascinating.

After a harrowing artillery barrage in Italy late in 1944, Brissie, a 20-year-old pitching prospect, talked doctors out of amputating his leg. It certainly won't spoil the story to tell you that, against mind-boggling odds, he fulfilled his lifelong ambition of coming back to baseball, pitching with Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's. His potentially great career was "reduced to 44 wins ... and a life of incessant pain," but for once the story of an athlete's life before and after his playing days is the real reason to read the book.

The Corporal Was a Pitcher Book Review

by Wes Lukowsky, 3/15/09, Booklist Publications

On December 7, 1944, a young army corporal from South Carolina was riding in a transport in northern Italy when an enemy shell hit the vehicle. Five of the 11 riders survived, including Lou Brissie, a promising Major League pitching prospect. Doctors wanted to amputate. Brissie implored them to save the leg. They did, and Brissie made the climb to the majors while wearing a knee-to-ankle, steel-and-aluminum brace. Called up to the majors by the Philadelphia Athletics on the last day of the 1947 season, he pitched through 1953 for the As and Indians, compiling a journeyman's 44-48 record. Berkow, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of 18 books, profiles Brissie's courage in overcoming his injuries and realizing his dream, but he also details the man's post-baseball career, in which he inspired injured vets and sick children with his calming presence, sincerity, and history of overcoming the odds. A deeply empathetic and moving chronicle of a life well lived.