That Williams spent much of his life either hiding
or downplaying his half-Mexican heritage is perhaps unsurprising given
the biases that permeated his southern California upbringing and the
segregated sport in which he became a star.
But the extent to which his ethnic background has
remained obscured is striking. If one were to gather a roomful of
passionate baseball fans today, I’d confidently wager that more than
half would have no idea that Teddy Ballgame was among the first great
Hispanic ballplayers in the big leagues.
And, amazingly:
In all, Williams lost five of his prime playing
years to military service -- a fact that makes his final stat sheet all
the more remarkable and that has long been a centerpiece in any
discussion of his greatness.
After all, who could imagine a pro athlete in the
modern era giving up all of the money and privileges of sports fame to
serve his country?
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