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Chet Hajduk
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Birthdate: 7/21/1918 Died: 7/4/2006
Height / Weight: 6' 0" / 195 lbs. Place of Birth: Chicago, IL, USA
Bats / Throws: R / R

Baseball Historian Biography

Recalling baseball during the 1940s By administrator John R. Balazs @ baseballhistorian.com written on Sept 15, 2001 - Recalling the War Years - 1942-45

'When I played, we played for the love of the game,' said all-star Chet Hajduk in recalling baseball in the 1940s. 'When someone asked me if I wanted to play baseball for a living, I jumped at it. I would have done it for three meals a day.' In Hajduk's day meal allowance was $1.50 a day. But he says money wasn't on his mind when he jumped at a White Sox offer while playing semi-pro ball from 'sunrise to sunset.' Hajduk just smiles when he hears modern day players complain about playing a day game after a night game. Still in his mind, Hajuk  recalled the times when he would drive the team bus all night after leaving from Madison, Wisconsin and arriving in Evansville, Indiana just in time to eat breakfast and play a doubleheader. 'It certainly wasn't glamorous by today's standards, but it was in many ways wonderful,' Hajduk says. 'We loved the game and would have done anything to play baseball.'

In 1940 Hajduk, then 21-years old signed with the Chicago White Sox and was sent to Lubbock, Texas, Class C League. He immediately became the league's batting star, hitting a robust .329, slugged 25 homers and had 140 RBIs. After capturing the attention of major league scouts he was brought up to the Sox in '41 and broke his arm while playing first base and after that was sent to Waterloo of the Three I League to regain his strength. He played in spring training with the Sox in 1942, and then proudly joined the US Navy during World War II and possibly missed four years of a big-league career. Hajduk played with the Great Lakes Navy Team located north of Chicago and by swinging a power-bat in '42 he was named to the service all-star team. He played against a group of big-name, American League stars who left for active duty during the war, including Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. The game drew a huge response from baseball-loving fans and an estimated 63,000 flag-waving, rootin-tootin fans were in attendance. 'It was one of my greatest thrills in baseball,' Hajduk now says. In 1945 the All-Star Game was an all-service, seven-game event and this time Ted Williams was on his side along with Hall of Fame catcher Bill Dickey and power-hitting Johnny Mize. The games were played in Hawaii and featured the American League against the National League. 'Remember, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor about a year before, so we went to Hawaii without knowing whether we'd ever return. I was scared but was eager to help our country,' Hajduk recalls.

After being discharged from the Navy at war's end he once again began spring training with the White Sox. Hajduk recalls, 'Everyone was trying out there that year, including all of the big-time stars. There were so many returning players that there were six people at each position. It was very tough to make any team.' His bags packed again, Hajduk was sent to Texas Double A League and once again was an all-star, batting clean-up in the game with Hall of Famer Duke Snider batting third and the AL's 1953 Most Valuable Player Al Rosen hitting fifth.

'I don't have any regrets,' says Hajduk a resident of Illinois. 'I'm sorry I had to lose four years during my prime to the war. But, I was proud to serve and assist our country in war-time. When I came out I was 27-years old without much major league experience and my age was against me. I don't complain though, I had a chance to play baseball with and against some of the greatest ever.' In 1948 he played in the Pacific Coast League and was a minor league all-star two more times before he left baseball at age 32 - without ever having a minor-league season when he batted below .300. Baseball History


Pitching Statistics
Year Team G GS W L SV CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO WP HBP BK ERA
1 years   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Batting Statistics
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS IBB HBP SH SF AVG OBP SLG
1941 CHW (AL) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .0 .0 SLG
1 years   1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .SLG



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