World War II hero adapted style to play in the Majors

Military doctors said, "Amputate the leg." The corporal with a contract to play Major League Baseball said, "No."

A star in the textile baseball league of South Carolina, Leland Lou Brissie of North Augusta turned down a signing bonus with the Dodgers before signing with the Philadelphia A's. His baseball career was set. And then came World War II.

"The Dodgers made an offer with a $25,000 bonus, but I turned it down to sign with the Athletics. I signed in 1941, and the deal was I attend college for three years and then report to the ball club. That never happened. The war came along and most of us didn't get our three years in."

Brissie enlisted in the 88th Infantry Division of the United States Army in 1942. In the spring of 1944, his unit was sent to Italy to combat the Axis powers. On Dec. 7, 1944, Brissie's life changed forever.

"We had been on the line in combat for about 35 days without hot food or a bath. We were being pulled off the line for one night. The plan was to walk us out at night for a shower, a hot breakfast and a hot lunch and to walk us back the next night. We were behind the lines when we got caught in an artillery barrage. I was wounded with the first shell of the barrage," Brissie said.

The shell shattered his left shinbone into more than 30 pieces and broke both his left ankle and right foot.

Brissie was transported to the hospital where surgeons discussed amputating his leg.

"I pleaded with them not to amputate," said Brissie. "The first hospital sent me to another and then to a third larger hospital in Naples, Italy. Dr. Rev. Brubaker performed experimental procedures. He saved my leg. Brubaker was later awarded the Surgeon General's Certificate of Commendation for the surgery."

Returning to the United States, Brissie spent over a year in the hospital in Alabama undergoing numerous surgeries.

"I eventually started walking again with a cane or crutches toward the end of 1945," he said. "The whole time I was hurt, I never thought about I could or couldn't. I thought about what adjustments had to be made in order for me to pitch. My focus was on how."

By July of 1946, he reported to the A's; however, his leg became re-infected and Brissie was sent back to the hospital. He was told to get well and report to spring training in 1947.

"In '47, the question was whether my leg would holdup as a regular pitcher. The A's sent me to Savannah, Ga., to play in the Sally League to see if my leg would make it," said Brissie.

Playing Major League Baseball was his childhood dream and nothing was going to stop him.

Brissie grew up in Greenville watching his five uncles play in the textile leagues.

He joined a team in Ware Shoals at the age of 14 and began pitching.

At the time, textile leagues were the main entertainment in town and, at one time, Greenville had as many as 20 teams.

Brissie often played against teams from Graniteville and Augusta who were all in the textile league.

One of the requirements to play was you must work as a full-time employee and Brissie did just that, juggling school, work and baseball.

As far as Brissie was concerned his leg was just a minor setback, nothing his fastball couldn't handle.

The 1947 season proved a success for Brissie who taught himself to pitch again.

"It was just a matter of making adjustments. I wore a brace and, because of the heavy scarring, I wore a guard to keep it from getting hit," he said. "They were only physical adjustments. I had to change my pitching style."

Standing at 6-foot-4, the left-handed pitcher from South Carolin made his Major League debut in 1947 with the Philadelphia Athletics under Connie Mac.

Grantland Rice, a famed sportswriter, wrote in an article published in the 1948 Sport magazine: "There have been many stories of servicemen who barely escaped death and returned to play ball again. Lou Brissie's case puts him on top. Brissie's left leg was all but torn away by shell fragments in the Italian campaign. Only his determination to play baseball again saved Brissie from losing the leg. With the help of a heavy protective brace, Lou returned to the mound, winning 23 and losing 5 in the Sally League last year."

Not only did Brissie triumph over his injury, he excelled. He pitched during the 1949 American League All Star game played in Brooklyn, N.Y. The high scoring game was the last American League All-Star win for years to come.

Brissie pitched for the A's until the 1951 season when he went to play for the Cleveland Indians. He retired from Major League Baseball at the end of the '54 season to take over as the national director of the American Legion Baseball program. He held this position for seven years. With the passion for baseball still flowing through his veins, Brissie spent the next eight years as a scout for first the Braves and then the Dodgers.

About a year ago, Brissie received a phone call from the former New York Times columnist, novelist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ira Berkow.

"My friends always said I ought to do a book. Ira called and said he wanted to do it," said Brissie. "I am so honored a guy who won the Pulitzer would be interested in me." The book, titled "The Corporal was a Pitcher - The Courage of Lou Brissie," will be released nationally by Triumph books in February of this year.

Brissie will be featured this evening on ETV at 9 p.m. on the Carolina Stories "Baseball in the Upstate." The half-hour program a is filled with vintage footage and interviews of several players in the Upstate textile mill league.

According to press material, Brissie discusses his days both on the battlefield and on the bump staring down Yankee batters in the playoffs.

Contact Rachel Johnson at rjohnson@aikenstandard.com.