William Wirt Connelly of Alberta, Virginia, a Navy medical sailor who served with the 3rd Marine Division on Guam before pitching in Major League Baseball.
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Bill “Doc” Connelly

Navy Service with the Marines

As the only member of the list to not have earned the title of United States Marine, William Wirt “Bill” Connelly nevertheless held one of the Corps’ most trusted and respected positions: a United States Navy medical sailor assigned to Marines, more commonly known as a corpsman.

Connelly began his Navy training at Naval Training Station Newport, Rhode Island. He subsequently served with the 3rd Medical Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, on Guam during World War II. The division landed on July 21, 1944, and fought until organized resistance ended on August 10. Medical personnel treated and evacuated casualties while operating close behind the assault units during a campaign that cost Marine forces thousands of killed and wounded.

Connelly is often described retrospectively as a hospital corpsman third class. During World War II, however, the Navy’s official medical rating was pharmacist’s mate; “hospital corpsman” did not become the formal rating title until 1948. “Corpsman” was already the familiar and enduring name used for these Navy medical specialists.

Connelly is credited with the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Ribbon for his wartime service. Although the Combat Action Ribbon was not established until 1969, the Navy authorized retroactive awards for qualifying service dating to World War II.

Baseball Career

Connelly was born in Alberta, Virginia, on June 29, 1925, and attended Alberta High School and Hampden-Sydney College. The Philadelphia Athletics signed the right-handed pitcher in 1945 and sent him directly to the Major Leagues. He debuted against Detroit on August 22, only weeks after his twentieth birthday, and finished his first season with a 1–1 record in two appearances.

Nicknamed “Wild Bill,” Connelly spent the next several seasons in the high minors. He returned to the Major Leagues briefly with the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers in 1950 before the New York Giants purchased him from Minneapolis in August 1952. Over the final six weeks of that season, he won all five of his decisions, posted a 4.55 ERA in 11 appearances, and helped the Giants finish second in the National League.

Connelly made his final Major League appearance for New York on June 16, 1953. Across parts of four seasons with Philadelphia, Chicago, Detroit, and New York, he went 6–2 with a 6.92 ERA in 25 games. He continued pitching in the minors through 1957, completing a 13-season professional career.

Later Life and Legacy

Connelly returned to Virginia after baseball. He died in Richmond on November 27, 1980, at age 55 and was buried at Crestview Memorial Park in La Crosse, Virginia.

His place in this project is deliberately distinctive. Connelly was a sailor, not a Marine, but his service illustrates why Marines reserve the name “Doc” for the Navy medical personnel who share their hardships and care for them in combat. His connection to the Corps was earned beside Marines of the 3rd Division in the Pacific.

Sources and further reading

  1. National Museum of the United States Navy — Corpsman Up!
  2. Naval History and Heritage Command — Navy ratings and the evolution of the Hospital Corpsman title
  3. United States Marine Corps historical monograph — The Recapture of Guam
  4. United States Navy — History of the Medical Department of the United States Navy in World War II, Volume II
  5. Major League Baseball — Bill Connelly statistics and biographical data
  6. Baseball-Reference — Bill Connelly Major League record
  7. Baseball-Reference — Bill Connelly minor-league record
  8. Society for American Baseball Research — Bill Connelly profile
  9. Hampden-Sydney College — Baseball professional players
  10. Wikipedia — Bill Connelly