In the early 20th century, Sesser, Illinois, was perhaps best known as a coal mining town. But just before World War II, a semi-celebrity emerged from there.
Sesser's local baseball team featured the talents of a 15-year old catcher named Gene Moore. Moore was so good that a scout from the Brooklyn Dodgers came out to see him , and immediately offered him a minor-league contract. That began a life of twists and turns that now finds itself documented in the book Playing With The Enemy:A Baseball Prodigy, World War II, and the Long Journey Home.
It's written by Gene's son Gary W. Moore, who recently talked with Eight Forty-Eight's Jason Marck.