Lou Stringer

Stringer was one of many major leaguers who saw his baseball career interrupted by World War II. In his case, he served a stint in the United States Army Air Forces and missed three seasons (1943–1945).

He entered the Majors with the Cubs, playing for them three years (1941–42, 1946) before joining the Red Sox (1948–50). His most productive season came in his rookie year, when he posted career-numbers in games (145), hits (126), runs (59), extra bases (40) and runs batted in (53), while hitting .246 with a .324 on-base percentage. In 1942 he hit .241 with 41 RBI and a career-high nine home runs in 121 games. Injuries shortened his career after that, being replaced by Don Johnson in the Cubs infield. He also appeared in 63 games in parts of three seasons for the Red Sox.

In a six-season career, Stringer was a .242 hitter (290–for–1,196) with 19 home runs and 122 RBI in 409 games, including 148 runs, 49 doubles, 10 triples and seven stolen bases.

Stringer's minor league baseball career lasted for all or parts of 13 years between 1937 and 1957, and included a brief stint as acting manager of the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League in 1948. He died in Lake Forest, California, at the age of 91.

• Baseball Reference
• Retrosheet
• Baseball in Wartime
• Lou Stringer at Find a Grave
• Obituary at OC Register