Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Ted Williams and John Glenn

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By Hayden Bird, Boston.com Staff
December 8, 2016

For several missions in the Korean War, the United States Marine Corps had one of the nation’s greatest ever baseball players flying alongside one of its (soon to be) greatest astronauts.

John Glenn, who died on Thursday at the age of 95, once led Red Sox great Ted Williams into battle. Williams, so often the dominant personality, was awed by Glenn.

“John Glenn? Oh … could he fly an airplane,” Williams once told the Chicago Tribune‘s Bob Greene. “Absolutely fearless. The best I ever saw. It was an honor to fly with him.”

Williams, who like Glenn also served in World War II, was called up as a reservist during the war in Korea. He was randomly assigned to be Glenn’s wingman.

“By luck of the draw, we went to Korea at the same time,” Glenn recalled after Williams’s death in 2002. “We were in the same squadron there. What they did at that time, they teamed up a reservist with a regular to fly together most of the time just because the regular Marine pilots normally had more instrument flying experience and things like that. So Ted and I were scheduled together. Ted flew as my wingman on about half the missions he flew in Korea.”

Williams reflected on the friendship he developed with Glenn after the latter gained fame as the first American to orbit the earth in February, 1962. In a rare column that he wrote himself for The Boston Globe in June of ’62, Williams said that even in Korea, he knew Glenn was going to be special.

“This was a man destined for something great; it was an intuitive feeling I had” wrote Williams. “John always had exceptional self-control and was one of the calmest men I have ever met, no matter how perilous the situation.”

In one especially difficult moment, Williams recalled how Glenn offered advice that helped Williams fly back to base safely. After getting hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, Williams’s F9F Panther jet was ablaze. Glenn flew next to his wing and pointed up. Flying higher into thinner air, the fire was extinguished, allowing Williams to fly back to base.

When Glenn flew into orbit on Friendship 7 in 1962, Williams did something he wasn’t accustomed to.

“I don’t pray, but I said a little prayer for him,” Williams told the Globe after Glenn was safely home.

More Ted Williams and John Glen stuff

Two Greats, for sure. Williams was drafted twice, never a complaint.

He missed over four and a half years of baseball during his prime to military service. It’s possible he could have broken Babe Ruth’s career home run record if he had played those years. He almost surely would have finished second on the all-time list.

Neither of these studs ever took a knee or demanded anything.

This is why our country has become a sh it hole.

This generation is gone.

Father in Law was on the USMC west coast championship baseball team in late 40’s. Can’t remember may e the 1947 or 48 team??? Called back into service in 1950. He always said that Williams had a few choice words about being called back in during Korea. He (Williams) was not pleased.

Personally, I don’t care one way or the other and I have no proof of this. Other than his oral history on the subject. But he was very adamant on the subject.

Here's another showing what Fighter Pilots do best, talking with their hands and shooting down each other's watches...

after he became a senator , Glenn was one of the worst anti-gun people in congress........

i duck hunted with ted williams for a couple days in 1976 or 77. nice guy. he much preferred talking about ducks and geese, but often took the time to discuss his baseball career.

Whichever year he came back from Korea, I'm guessing it was 1953, he played a couple dozen games at the end of the season. His stats were ridiculous. Just walked in cold and hit like he'd never left. That was impressive.

John Glenn was a dedicated Democrat. Of the sort that we would be lucky to have in government today.

Sorry, I lost all respect for Glenn because of the deal he made for his vote during the Clinton impeachment. He passed by a lot of astronauts who had been waiting years in the program to go into space to satisfy his narcissism.

I respectfully disagree. Glenn was an ultraLib who never initiated any legislation. If he were in trhe Senate today, and Chuck-you Shumer told him to shoot his mother, his only quibble would be who would pay for the bullets.

He managed to get VERY RICH. "Hey John, you know that property over there. The Holiday Inn is going to build a motel there and if you owned it you could get rich." "Naw, I don't have enough money to swing it" "No problem, we'll loan you 100%. Now about that bill coming up in the Senate..."

Glenn ended up owning three large Holiday Inns.

He ran for President in 1984. When he lost in the nomination, in part because he gave a droning boring speech at the convention, he stiffed his creditors out of $2,400,000. He went around giving speeches saying it was a shame it was illegal for him to pay them out of his own funds. Blah, blah, blah. Later, the law was changed so he COULD pay them out of his own funds, and that was the last we heard about that.

A do-nothing senator, his only initiative was to lead the deflection against some corruption or other during the Clinton administration (I forget the details). As a reward they let him fly on the space shuttle, with no duties at all, at the age of 77. It was billed as research to see how space flight affected the aging. But no results of the "research" were ever revealed. Spam in a can.

And yes, he was anti-gun. And just as corrupt as Biden.

I remember john glenn being a horse’s ass and an obstructionist against pretty much every GOP initiative during his time in the senate.

Yep. Anyone who willfully associates himself or herself with the Democrat Party is morally bankrupt and intellectually dishonest.

Glenn was really no different from McCain. Both combat Naval Aviators with corrupt character.

Don’t know if any John Glenn shotguns, but have seen quite a few Ted Williams.

Yes indeed...

Williams was the last pro to hit .400! That is unheard of anymore.

Sure as hell put J C Higgins out of a job! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣