Eckert, William Dole
(20 January 1909–16 April 1971)
- Larry R. Gerlach
Extract
Eckert, William Dole (20 January 1909–16 April 1971), military officer and baseball commissioner, was born in Freeport, Illinois, the son of Frank Lloyd Eckert, a salesman, and Harriet Julia Rudy. The family moved to Madison, Indiana, when he was two years old. Eckert played football, basketball, and baseball at Madison High School, but his primary youthful interest was the military. At age fifteen he joined the Indiana National Guard, and in 1926 he obtained an appointment to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York....
