Cloudbuster Nine

In 1943, while the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals battled for the World Series title, another legendary team was taking the field on a scrappy diamondinNorth Carolina. The Cloudbuster Nine wasn't just any baseball team. Theywere big-league pros turned Navy fighter-pilot cadets, including Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, and Johnny Sain, training to become America's heroes.At the heart of it all was Jim Raugh, the team's batboy. From cramped buses to war-bond exhibitionseven a game at Yankee Stadium against a Babe Ruthled squadJim witnessed baseball history firsthand. He chased his own dreams as a college All-American, but life threw him a curveball:a career-ending injury that dashedhis major-league dreams.Now,Jim's daughter,Anne R. Keene, uncovers an untold story from his long-lost scrapbook, revealing memories from asports-based training programthat shaped some of America's greatest leaders: George H. W. Bush, John Glenn, Bear Bryant, and John Wooden among them. The Cloudbuster Ninetells, for the first time, the thrilling story of thispatrioticbaseballteamwith legends like Ted Williamswho played for pride, country and the war-effortand helped win World War II.