The Second World War nearly sidelined baseball, leading many stars to join the military service, and forcing major league teams to rely on aging veterans and untested youngsters. But President Franklin Roosevelt decided it was ultimately good for the country's morale keep the game going. Meanwhile, the shortage of men on the homefront led to a rise in the popularity of women playing baseball, and the formation of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, which thrived through the late 1940s. And on islands in the Pacific, baseball was played by soldiers throughout the global conflict. The shortage of ballplayers gave one-armed Pete Gray (at the right) and many others chance to shine. The photo posted below of the Washington Senators shows a team that's filled with players from Cuba who came to the nation's capitol to help fill out the team's roster.