WWI Artifacts and Memories: The 805th Pioneer Infantry Bearcats
Posted on: January 9, 2015
Last year, project staff digitized portions of the Missouri History Museum's World War I collection. The collection consists of over 6,000 pages related to military and civilian participation in World War I by individuals and groups from St. Louis and Missouri. One of the military units whose documents are included in the collection is the 805th Pioneer Infantry Regiment, an African American unit. In addition to their unit history and several rosters, there is a bulletin that gives the recap and box score from a baseball game between the 805th and 803rd Pioneer Infantry regiments from May 19, 1919. The 805th won 7–0.
Recently, Patrick Allie, WWI Exhibit Curator, Missouri History Museum, discovered that several of the members of the 805th baseball team played for the Negro Leagues after the war. To learn more about these players, check out Patrick's blog, WWI Artifacts and Memories: The 805th Pioneer Infantry Bearcats.