As we look ahead to Memorial Day, we are reminded that there are hundreds of athletes who have worn the uniform of one of the branches of the United States Military. We would like to celebrate a couple of those who have ties to Oklahoma; one performed his duty and had a fulfilling baseball career, while the other paid the ultimate price and didn’t have the opportunity to see what kind of NFL career he might have had.

Warren Spahn won more games than any other left-handed pitcher in Major League history. A native of Buffalo, New York, Spahn spent 21 seasons in the majors, compiling a record of 363 wins and 245 losses, and a career ERA of 3.09 and 2,583 strike outs. He spent most of his career with the Boston/Milwaukee Braves, but split his last full season in the majors between the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants (1965). He retired when he was 44 years old.

Like many major league players, Spahn’s career was interrupted when he chose to enlist in the United States Army, after finishing the 1942 season in the minors. He served with distinction, and was awarded a Purple Heart. Spahn saw action in the Battle of the Bulge and at the Ludendorff Bridge as a combat engineer, and was awarded a battlefield commission.

He returned to the major leagues in 1946 at the age of 25, having missed three full seasons. Many felt Spahn’s numbers could have been even higher had he not missed three seasons. Regardless, he was a 17-time All-Star, World Series Champion, and Hall of Famer.

After retiring as a player, Spahn managed the Tulsa Oilers for five seasons, 1967-1971, and led the team to the Pacific Coast League Championship in 1968.

For many years until retirement, Spahn owned the Diamond Star Ranch, just south of Hartshorne, Oklahoma. He later sold the ranch and moved to a home near a golf course in Broken Arrow, where he died at the age of 82, in November 2003.

One athlete who gave his life for his country was former University of Oklahoma All-American tackle, Bob Kalsu, who was killed in action during the Vietnam War.

Kalsu, a native of Del City, was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 1968, and started every game at guard during his rookie season, earning him the team’s rookie-of-the-year honor. Following that first season, Kalsu, a member of the Oklahoma ROTC, fulfilled his obligation to serve in the military and was sent with the Army to South Vietnam in November 1969 as part of the 101st Airborne Division. He was killed in action on July 21, 1970, when his unit came under enemy mortar fire at FSB Ripcord near the A Shau Valley.

Kalsu left behind a wife and daughter in Oklahoma City, when he went off to Vietnam, and two days after his death, his wife gave birth to their second child, a son. She was informed of her husband’s death only a few hours after giving birth.

In 2000, the Buffalo Bills added Kalsu’s name to the team’s Wall of Fame. The Del City High School football stadium and post office bear his name.

Kalsu was the last NFL player to be killed serving as a soldier in a war until 2004, when Pat Tillman of the Arizona Cardinals was killed in Afghanistan.