Cecil Travis
Cecil Travis | ||
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Runs batted in | 657 | |
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Career highlights and awards | ||
Cecil Howell Travis (August 8, 1913 – December 16, 2006) was an American professional
Biography
Travis was born on a farm in
In
Travis entered the Army in the winter of 1941–42, and spent most of World War II in the United States, playing on military baseball teams. Sent to Europe in late 1944 while serving in the 76th Infantry Division, he suffered a severe case of frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge, necessitating an operation to prevent amputation of his feet. Travis received a Bronze Star for his military service. Although only 31 years old when he returned to baseball, he was not the same player as he had been before the war, and hit .241 in late 1945 and .252 in 1946. He retired after batting .216 in 74 games in 1947. One month before his final game, he was honored with "Cecil Travis Night" at Griffith Stadium, with General Dwight D. Eisenhower in attendance.
In his career, Travis had 1544 hits, 665 runs, 657 RBI, 265 doubles, 78 triples, 27 home runs, 402 walks and 23 stolen bases in 1328 games. He was a Senators scout until 1956, and then returned to his family farm. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1975. He died at his home in December 2006 at age 93.
See also
Further reading
- Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators: The War-Torn Career of an All-Star Shortstop by ISBN 978-0-8032-2475-9.
External links
- Cecil Travis of the Washington Senators: The War-Torn Career of an All-Star Shortstop – publisher's book page
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
- Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile
- SABR biography
- Retrosheet
- The Baseball Page – biography
- Washington Post obituary
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Only war could keep him from Hall of Fame"
- New York Times obituary