Recently I wrote an article on players who drifted through the Boston Red Sox roster during World War II. The rosters of all teams became an eclectic collection of talent at varying levels of baseball skills. The manpower shortage made roster development a unique blend of former stars of questionable ability, players who under normal conditions would be consigned to the minors, players whose classification in the draft made them available, and just about anyone else who could function with minimal embarrassment.
There was an opportunity as somehow the St. Louis Browns – a historically inept franchise – won the American League pennant in 1944.