He was arguably the best centerfielder in baseball in the history of Baylor University and played defensive end with the New York Giants. But on 8 March 1945, 1Lt Jack Lummus became a hero on Iwo Jima, knocking out 3 enemy positions that were preventing the Marines from advancing. Urging on his platoon, Lummus stepped on a landmine that blasted off the legs that had carried him to victory on the playing field. He continued encouraging his men until he was evacuated. Before he died, he reportedly told the medic, “Well, doc, the New York Giants lost a mighty good end today.”