John Glenn had an unbelievable connection with a Red Sox legend
Before he became the first American to orbit the Earth, astronaut John Glenn shared the skies with a Boston Red Sox legend. Hall of Fame outfielder Ted Williams served as Glenn’s wingman while the two served during the Korean War.
Vet gave me this: John Glenn & Ted Williams who left @RedSox 2x to serve in WWII & Korea. He was at the height of his career during WWII. pic.twitter.com/KWH8vkB2lw
— Francisco Urena ???????? (@Urena) November 12, 2016
Major John Glenn & Captain Ted Williams discussing aerial maneuvers at K-3 Air Force Base in South Korea (1953) #RIP pic.twitter.com/c9M0mTF2dp
— Baseball by BSmile (@BSmile) December 8, 2016
It’s an unbelievable connection, especially considering what the two would go on to accomplish during their lives. Williams had already established himself as one of the best players in baseball, and would continue his Hall of Fame career after returning from military service. Glenn not only rose to prominence in the military, but became the first American to orbit the Earth.
Glenn, who died Thursday, spoke about his relationship with Williams following Williams’ death in 2002. He told MLB.com the two flew together a fair amount in Korea.
“By luck of the draw, we went to Korea at the same time,” Glenn said. “We were in the same squadron there. What they did at that time, they teamed up a reservist with a regular to fly together most of the time just because the regular Marine pilots normally had more instrument flying experience and things like that. So Ted and I were scheduled together. Ted flew as my wingman on about half the missions he flew in Korea.”
Despite Williams’ status as a celebrity and baseball player, he wasn’t given simple duties. Williams and Glenn found themselves in dangerous situations while they served together.
“Once, he was on fire and had to belly land the plane back in,” Glenn said. “He slid it in on the belly. It came up the runway about 1,500 feet before he was able to jump out and run off the wingtip.
“Another time he was hit in the wingtip tank when I was flying with him. So he was a very active combat pilot, and he was an excellent pilot and I give him a lot of credit.”
Williams spoke highly of Glenn as well. In a column for the Boston Globe, Williams said he knew Glenn would go on to do great things, according to Boston.com.
“This was a man destined for something great; it was an intuitive feeling I had” wrote Williams. “John always had exceptional self-control and was one of the calmest men I have ever met, no matter how perilous the situation.”
Due to that connection, the two obviously maintained a relationship later in life.
John Glenn was Ted Williams’s operations commander in Korean War–flew missions together (shown in 1998): #NASA pic.twitter.com/ooIxVvli5b
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) December 8, 2016
Glenn even showed up at Fenway Park in 2002 to speak about Williams when the team paid tribute to the legendary outfielder.
John Glenn and Ted Williams not only accomplished incredible things, but the two shared some of the most important moments of their lives together. That’s pretty surreal.
(BLS H/N: Boston.com and MLB.com)
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
