Which Battle Of The Bulge Soldiers Were Also Famous Sports Figures?

Ralph Houk spent part of his playing career in the minor leagues, but also spent some time with the New York Yankees, typically as a backup catcher for Yogi Berra. By the 1960s he was a Major League manager. He spent more than two decades in the big leagues managing the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and Boston Red Sox. According to Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), Houk still has the distinction of being the only manager to win back-to-back World Series in his first two seasons.

Houk and his brother Harold both joined the Army in 1942, just a few months after the United States entered the war. Houk managed the baseball team at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas and was also in charge of a barracks full of recruits, something he later said helped him in his managerial career. By 1944, Houk arrived on European soil. He landed on Omaha Beach several days after D-Day, and was greeted with a bullet that struck his helmet, but fortunately missed him otherwise. Houk was also in the Ardennes Forest during the Battle of the Bulge and later wrote about his experiences.

"Suddenly all hell broke loose," Houk said. "They opened the attack with a furious barrage; followed by wave after wave of Hitler's battle-tested troopers ... Panzer divisions ... were turned loose on us." According to Insider, Houk suffered a calf injury in battle. He earned several awards for his service, including a Purple Heart and Silver Star.

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