Bob Feller was one of the best pitchers in baseball history, posting a 266-162 record with a 3.25 ERA for Cleveland in his 18-season career.
We have to say “18-season career” instead of “18-year career,” because it took 21 years for Feller to play his 18 seasons. That’s because in late 1941, after the bombing at Pearl Harbor pulled the United States into World War II, Feller became the first American professional athlete to voluntarily enlist in the military when he joined the Navy to fight in the war.
At the time, Feller’s father was in failing health; he would die just over a year later, as Feller was just about to head into combat.