Hal Jeffcoat

Harold Bentley Jeffcoat (September 6, 1924 – August 30, 2007) was born in West Columbia, South Carolina, and spent 12 seasons and 918 games in the major leagues across two positions. He began his career as an outfielder with the Chicago Cubs (1948–1955), then converted to right-handed pitcher (1954–1959), also serving with the Cincinnati Redlegs and Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. Before professional baseball, he served as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army during World War II, seeing combat in the Italian Campaign and receiving a Purple Heart after being wounded. In 1947 he led the Double-A Southern Association with 218 hits and 118 RBI.