Ex-hurler Lou Brissie: recalls his battles to pitch in the majors: World War II veteran overcame injuries to get his chance in the big leagues, playing for Connie Mack in Philadelphia.(Interview)

LOU BRISSIE IS AN ALL-AMERICAN hero. The extremely modest former major leaguer would be the first person to deny it.

However, make no mistake about it, from his volunteering to serve in World War II to suffering a leg shattering battle injury to a courageous comeback to pitch in the major leagues, the dignified Philadelphia Athletics' alumnus satisfies all the requirements to be called a man of valor.

"I came to Philadelphia in '41 and signed a contract with Mr. (Connie) Mack. I was 17 at the time. The deal would send me to school for three years and then I would report back to the club," said Brissie, who still is quite spry as he enters his eighth decade of life.

"I never even played high school ball. I played for the local mill leagues where I pitched and played first base. That's how I got my experience." The talented left-hander, who now serves as a National Director of the American Legion baseball program, had the option of going to Duke where former A's pitcher Jack Coombs was the baseball coach or Presbyterian College where Chick Gallo was the manager. However, World War II changed those plans dramatically. "I lost a brother in the war so I enlisted in the service in December 1942," the South Carolina native related. The southpaw, who had been compared to greats like Lefty Grove and Rube Walberg, was going to be using his portside delivery to toss grenades at the enemy for Uncle Sam.

In November 1944, Brissie's unit, the 88th Infantry, was part of a major push against the Axis powers in Northern Italy. The fighting was bloody and brutal.

"Our unit suffered over 90 percent casualties," Brissie said. "I was hoping to get home the next year." Then on December 7, 1944, his squad was hit with a fierce artillery attack. "Within minutes we lost three of our four officers as well as eight other men in the barrage," he recalled.

During the assault, shrapnel shattered Brissie's left tibia and shinbone into thirty pieces. "At first, they wanted to amputate the leg. I told them that they couldn't because I was a baseball player. Then they sent me to two hospitals where they really couldn't do anything for me. Finally, I made it to the big Army hospital in Naples where Captain Wilbur K. Brubaker came into my life," Brissie added.