Baseball in Wartime - John Corbett

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John Corbett

Position: Pitcher
Born: Revere, MA October 10, 1919,
Died: Revere, MA September 1992
Military Service: USAAF

John Corbett

John Corbett was a talented young pitcher from Revere, Massachusetts. He played high school baseball with the Immaculate Conception School and was on the Catholic School All Star team. After school, Corbett played for local teams and had a tryout with the Boston Braves.

Corbett entered military service in May 1942 and was based in England with the 837th Air Engineer Squadron at Wattisham. "My arm is in real good shape," he told his wife in a letter in May 1943. In fact, his arm helped the Air Service Command Red Devils to the quarterfinals of the 1943 ETO championships, where they were beaten, 5-3, by the 116th Infantry Yankees, eventual ETO champions.

Corbett returned home in November 1945. He earned a law degree at night school and opened a small practice. "My father did not play baseball again," explains his daughter Joanne Corbett. "But he was a great follower of the Red Sox and one of the founders of the Revere Little League."

Air Service Command Red Devils in England, 1943 (John Corbett is front row, second left)

John Corbett passed away in September 1992 at the age of 72. "He loved baseball and everyone says he was a really good pitcher," remembers Joanne.

(Thanks to Joanne Corbett for help with her father's biography)

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