Interview with Robert "Bob" Feller, July 3, 1979

Interview Summary

Bob Feller, from Iowa, was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Feller discusses his enlistment in the Navy, his military career and his physical conditioning while he was a part of the military. He describes his return to Cleveland in 1945, his relationship with other veterans and his motivation for joining the Navy. He gives his opinions on the lack of leaders and the general decline of society in 1979. He talks about serving as manager of the Great Lakes service team, the 1945 season, his camp for returning ballplayers after World War II and the role that A.B. "Happy" Chandler played in it, as well as the 1946 season. He discusses his activities in 1979 and his relationship with Chandler, as well as the practice of barnstorming. He mentions some of the records that he set in 1946 and discusses competing with and against black players prior to the integration of major league baseball. Other topics include the off-the-field conduct of ballplayers, the characteristics needed to play baseball, the development of players in the minor leagues, Jackie Robinson as a player; and the high fastball.

Interview Keyword

Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler Baseball Baseball Commissioner Bob Feller

Interview LC Subject

Baseball--United States Chandler, Happy, 1898-1991 Feller, Bob, 1918-2010 Feller, Bob, 1918-2010--Interviews

Interview Rights

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.