Who Am I? (Number 8)

     I was born in Syracuse, New York on December 7, 1915. I attended Syracuse schools and was graduated from high school in 1933. My father was the maintenance superintendent for the city school district.
     As a boy, I loved sports. I grew up playing the center position in basketball and I pitched in baseball. When I was pitching, STRIKE THREE was the call I most wanted to hear from the umpire.
     After high school, I enrolled at the University of Michigan. It was the beginning of the Great Depression. I concentrated on my studies and joined the Wolverines men's basketball team. I played basketball from 1934-37, and was was selected captain in my senior year.
     Ray Fisher, Wolverine baseball coach and former Major League player, recruited me to play baseball as well. I pitched for the Wolverines baseball team from 1935-37. On June 3, 1937, I struck out 21 batters and allowed 3 hits in a 12-2 victory over the University of Toledo.
     I was awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1937 for excellence in both scholarship and athletics. I earned six letters in basketball and baseball and was graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from the school of education.
     After college graduation, I signed a contract to play professional baseball with my hometown team--the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League. On August 3, 1937, I threw a two-hit shutout against the Toronto Maple Leafs. I played for the Chiefs from 1937 to 1939.
     I joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in August, 1939. I stood 6 feet 9 inches, and I was the tallest player in the Major Leagues. I pitched in three games for the Pirates at the close of the 1939 season.
     During spring training in 1940, I injured my throwing arm. The Pirates sent me back to the Chiefs.  By summer, my arm had not healed and the Chiefs put me on voluntary leave. In July, the Pirates surprised me and traded me to the Albany Senators of the Eastern League. I refused to go. Instead, I went to the Vermont summer home of my former college baseball coach, Ray Fisher.
I told reporters that I was placing myself entirely under Fisher's direction. "He taught me all I know, and he's the one who can straighten me out," I said.
     After Ray Fisher told the Pirates that I was ready to pitch again, I returned to baseball and reported for Pirates' spring training in 1941. But that started a botched season for me. I was traded to Minor League teams--Dallas, Portland and Albany--with few playing opportunities.
     In 1942, our country was at war. I reported to the Draft Board. I was declared 4F because I was too tall. On August 29, 1942, I married Susanne Corl of Maumee, Ohio. In the following years, we were blessed with two sons and three daughters.
     I returned to baseball with the Toronto Maples Leafs. But my arm was still sore. Earned run averages over 4.0 indicated that I wasn't throwing as well as I had in the past. I requested and was granted voluntary retirement by baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. I found off-season work as a physical education teacher in Adams, N.Y.
     In 1943, Commissioner Landis reinstated me and I rejoined the Pirates. I pitched in a few games that year, and worked off-season as basketball and soccer coach for Groton High School in New York. In 1944, I was traded to the New York Giants.
     My career with the Giants was spotty and lasted until 1946. My arm continued to bother me from time to time. September 26, 1946, was the date of the last Major League game in which I played.
     In February 1947, I told the Giants that I would not attend spring training. Instead, I would complete the school year at Waterloo High School in New York, where I was working as a physical education teacher.
     The Giants did not appreciate my no-show. I was classified as a hold-out, and not permitted to play in the Major Leagues that year.
     So I chose to play semi-pro baseball while retaining my teaching position at school. Until 1951, I played with the Homer Braves, Geneva Robbins and Auburn Cayugas.
     Did I tell you that I played professional basketball? I joined the Syracuse Nationals and played during the 1946-47 winter season, and I played for the Oneida Indians during the 1947-48 season.
     From 1951 to 1955, I was athletic director at Waterloo High School. In July 1955, I was appointed principal at Waterloo High School. The following year I received my master's degree from Syracuse University.
     In May 1960, I was appointed principal at Cortland High School in New York and served as principal until I retired in 1977. Staff, teachers and students always looked up to me. I was fair and honest in my professional judgment and decisions.
     I was code enforcement officer for the City of Cortland from 1980-85. I was given respect because I had presence. It helped to have the law on my side too.
     I passed away January 23, 1988, in Cortland, New York. I was posthumously inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame.
     My name is John Alexander Gee.


Editor's note:
     If family or friends have additional tributes or personal anecdotes about John Gee, please leave a comment.