Red Fahr: Combat Veteran

Gerald W. “Red” Fahr was born on December 9, 1924 in Marmaduke in northeast Arkansas.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 19-year-old was drafted for military service in September 1944 and served with the 2nd Armored Division in Europe. He was with the 2nd Armored when they crossed the Rhine on March 27, and was the first American division to reach the Elbe River on April 11. In July 1945, the division entered Berlin – the first American unit to enter the German capital city. Remaining in Europe with the Army of Occupation after the cease of hostilities, Fahr regularly played baseball for the 2nd Armored Division team, playing against major leaguers Red Munger and Russ Peters.

The 2nd Armored returned to the United States later in the year and was stationed at Ford Hood, Texas, where Fahr was discharged from military service in August 1946.

Deciding to try his hand at professional baseball the following spring, he had a tryout and was signed by the Vernon Dusters of the Class D Longhorn League. The 22-year-old made 39 appearances for the basement-dwelling Dusters for a 16-18 record and 4.68 ERA. In 277 innings he walked just 48 batters.

R.C. Huntley, president of the Vernon club, had several offers for the lanky right-handed rookie but decided to hold on to him for another year. A wise move as Fahr had an outstanding sophomore year, appearing in 35 games for a 21-8 record and 1.96 ERA.

“Gerald Fahr, who looks and throws much like Ewell Blackwell, the big league star, has been sold by Vernon of the Longhorn League to Class AA company for $6,000 and two players—all profit,” announced the Brownsville Herald on August 24 1948. Six thousand dollars was a vast sum to pay for a Class D ballplayer and his performance must certainly have impressed President Bonneau Peters of the Shreveport Sports who purchased his services.

“The umpires tell me he’s the brightest prospect in the league,” declared Longhorn League president Howard Green, “and more than one has expressed the opinion he’ll win for Shreveport. Fahr has a good fast ball which he can throw through a knot-hole. He’s very smart and never gives the batter anything good to hit, constantly working on his weakness.”

Fahr made 18 appearances for Shreveport in 1949 for a 3-1 record and also spent time at Kilgore in the East Texas League and Alexandria in the Evangeline League. The following year he found his footing with Shreveport, appearing in 44 games for a 10-6 record and 2.72 ERA. In the 1950 annual baseball draft in November, Fahr was selected from Shreveport by the Cleveland Indians and joined the major league club for spring training in 1951. The 26-year-old looked impressive. In the Indian’s exhibition opener on March 10 at Tucson, Arizona, his relief appearance, holding the Yankees hitless and scoreless in the last three innings, earned the win for the Indians in the 6-5 game and when the regular season started he had a spot on the roster.

Fahr made his major league debut on April 29 against the St. Louis Browns. On May 7 he hurled an inning in relief against the Senators and threw another inning in relief against the Red Sox on May 18. His final appearance came against the Senators on July 15, allowing four hits and a run in a two-inning relief appearance. Before being optioned to the minors, Fahr had appeared in five games with no wins or losses for a 4.76 ERA.

He joined the Ottawa Giants of the Class AAA International League for the remainder of the season, where he was 5-4 in 11 appearances. Fahr was back with the Indians for spring training in 1952 before being sold to the International League’s Toronto Maple Leafs in April, where he remained through 1955.

In October 1955, he was sent to the Charleston Senators of the Class AAA American Association, a team he had been optioned to for parts of 1953 and 1954. However, he chose not to report and joined the Dickinson Packers of North Dakota’s semi-pro Man-Dak League for 1956.

Following his baseball career, Gerald Fahr worked as an industrial engineer at Emerson Electric. He passed away on February 12, 2010 at the Peachtree Christian Hospice in Duluth, Georgia, aged 85, and is buried at the Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Paragould, Arkansas.