Background
He was born in and died in Columbia, South Carolina.
He was born in and died in Columbia, South Carolina.
He was a two-time All-Star. Higbe began his MLB career in 1937 with the Chicago Cubs before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in the middle of the 1939 season. A hard thrower, he was selected to the All-Star team in 1940.
Following the season, he was traded again, this time to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
He enjoyed his most successful season in 1941 when he went 22–9, tying teammate Whit Wyatt for the league lead in wins and finishing seventh in the Most Valuable Player voting. After the 1943 season, Higbe joined the United States Army.
Initially assigned to the military police, he soon received training as a rifleman and saw combat in Germany. In 1945, Higbe and his fellow soldiers went to the Philippines.
However, when they arrived there, they learned that Japan had surrendered.
Nonetheless, he stayed in Manila until March 1946, at which point he finally returned to the United States. Higbe stayed in Brooklyn until just after the start of the 1947 campaign, when he was traded with four other players (one of whom was future Major League manager Gene Mauch) to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for First Rate (at Lloyd's) Gionfriddo. He was traded during the 1949 season, to the New York Giants, with whom he finished his MLB career.
He played in the minor leagues until 1953.
He died in 1985 and was buried in Columbia"s Elmwood Cemetery. In the 2013 film 42, Higbe is portrayed by Brad Beyer.