Henry Albert Bauer of East St. Louis, Illinois. Staff Sergeant Bauer served with the 4th Marine Raider Battalion and fought in the Pacific during World War II.
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Hank Bauer

Marine Corps Service

Henry Albert “Hank” Bauer enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 1942 and received recruit training at Mare Island, California. He volunteered for the Marine Raiders and joined the 4th Raider Battalion, eventually attaining the rank of staff sergeant.

Bauer served in the Solomon Islands and fought with the 4th Raiders during the New Georgia campaign in 1943. In February 1944, the Raider battalions were reorganized to form the new 4th Marines; Bauer’s battalion became 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. The regiment secured the undefended island of Emirau in March and subsequently fought on Guam as part of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade. Bauer was wounded in the back by enemy shrapnel during the battle.

The brigade later became part of the 6th Marine Division. On Okinawa, Bauer served with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, and led Marines through exceptionally heavy fighting. Later accounts state that only six members of his 64-man platoon came through the campaign. On May 24, 1945, enemy artillery shrapnel tore into his thigh, ending his combat service and sending him back to the United States for treatment.

Bauer received two Bronze Star Medals and two Purple Hearts. He also endured repeated attacks of malaria during his Pacific service. While he survived the war and recovered from his wounds, his older brother Herman, a soldier in the Army’s 3rd Armored Division, was killed in action in France on July 12, 1944.

Baseball Career

After recovering from his Okinawa wound, Bauer signed with the New York Yankees and reached the Major Leagues on September 6, 1948. The hard-running, strong-armed right fielder became a fixture on one of baseball’s great dynasties. He was selected to three consecutive All-Star teams from 1952 through 1954 and helped the Yankees win nine American League pennants and seven World Series championships.

Bauer supplied both decisive runs and the final out of the 1951 World Series. In Game 6, his bases-loaded triple gave New York a three-run lead, and his charging catch of Sal Yvars’s sinking liner ended the game and secured the championship. From 1956 through 1958, Bauer hit safely in 17 consecutive World Series games, a record for the World Series that still stands.

Following the 1959 season, Bauer was included with Don Larsen, Norm Siebern, and Marv Throneberry in the trade that brought Roger Maris to New York. He finished his playing career with the Kansas City Athletics on July 21, 1961. Over 14 Major League seasons, Bauer batted .277 with 1,424 hits, 164 home runs, and 703 runs batted in.

Later Life and Legacy

Bauer moved directly from the field into managing. After leading the Kansas City Athletics, he became manager of the Baltimore Orioles in 1964 and guided the club to 97 victories in his first season. In 1966, Baltimore won its first American League pennant and swept the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers in four games to capture the first World Series championship in franchise history. Bauer was named American League Manager of the Year in both 1964 and 1966.

He later managed the Oakland Athletics, worked in the New York Mets’ minor-league system, and returned to the Yankees as a scout. Bauer died of lung cancer on February 9, 2007. His legacy joins remarkable achievement in two demanding arenas: a decorated Marine wounded in two Pacific battles and a seven-time World Series champion who later managed Baltimore to its first title.

Sources and further reading

  1. United States Department of Defense — Hank Bauer’s World War II service and baseball career
  2. United States Marine Corps History Division — Special Marine Corps Units of World War II
  3. United States Marine Corps — History of the 4th Marine Regiment
  4. Sons of Liberty Museum — transcription of Hank Bauer’s official Marine Corps casualty card
  5. Baseball’s Greatest Sacrifice — Hank Bauer’s combat service and wounds
  6. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum — Hank Bauer’s military and baseball biography
  7. Society for American Baseball Research — Hank Bauer biography
  8. Major League Baseball — Hank Bauer statistics and honors
  9. Major League Baseball — 1951 World Series recap
  10. Major League Baseball — Hank Bauer among the Orioles’ leading managers