Two former ballplayers, both in their 80s, died recently, each on Feb. 9. Yet, more than the coincidence of their passing on the same day, what is far more striking is how much both men, Hank Bauer and Eddie Feigner, reflected so much that is good about this country.

Hank Bauer, a right fielder for the New York Yankees from 1949 until 1959, was a hard-nosed, selfless individual who consistently put his country and his team before himself. In some ways he was the ultimate embodiment of the American dream, the kid from nowhere who made good.

Bauer was born in East St. Louis, Ill., youngest of nine children. His father, an Austrian immigrant, tended bar after losing a leg in an aluminum mill. Young Hank’s mother made clothes for him out of feed sacks, and after graduating from high school in 1941 he went to work in a bottling plant. Then came his big break. His brother, Herman, playing baseball in the minors, got him a tryout, and Hank signed with Oskosh in the Wisconsin State League.

Soon came Pearl Harbor, and Hank set his dream of making the majors aside to enlist in the Marines. During the battle to take Okinawa, Sgt. Bauer was with a platoon of 64 men. Only six of them survived. Bauer took a shrapnel hit that finally sent him home. He took with him a bundle of medals, including two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.

Back home, Bauer got another chance in baseball when a scout signed him for the Yankees prior to the 1946 season. He earned a promotion to the Yankees in 1948 and went on to become a three-time All-Star while helping New York win nine pennants and seven World Series. Casey Stengel, his manager, was a pioneer in the art of platooning, and Bauer found himself forced to share time with other outfielders while the superstars such as Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra played every day. Bauer, though, did not complain. He played hard and well, setting a record by hitting safely in 17 consecutive World Series games from 1956 to 1958. Bauer later managed the Baltimore Orioles to a World Series championship in 1966.

Bauer fought cancer for the final 14 years of his life. In that battle, too, as on the ball field and on Okinawa, he gave as good as he got.

Bauer did not believe in letting people down. Whatever needed doing, whether hitting, stealing a base, making a game-saving catch in right field, or sitting on the bench waiting for his turn to play, he was ready. When the first African-American Yankee, Elston Howard, was subjected to racial taunts, Bauer went onto the top of the dugout looking for the man who was yelling at Howard. It was all very simple for Bauer – no great ideals, just loyalty. “Ellie’s my friend,” he explained.

Bauer’s wife, Charlene, died in 1999. They had been married 50 years. That says something about Hank Bauer, too.

Eddie Feigner never played in the majors. In fact, he was a softball pitcher – likely the greatest softball player who ever lived.

Feigner was an orphan at birth, given away by his biological mother. Mary King, who lost her own child during childbirth, adopted the infant and gave him the name Myrle Vernon King.

Feigner joined the Marines during World War II, but suffered a nervous breakdown. Despite his abbreviated military career, he developed a lifelong commitment to servicemen. A link on the Eddie Feigner Web site leads right to the Marines.

After the war, Feigner found his niche. In 1946, he established his four-person softball team, which he later named the King and His Court. He also changed his name to Eddie Feigner, borrowing as his surname Mary King’s maiden name. For the rest of the century, Feigner and his Court took on full teams, often of All-Stars, in every state in the Union and in 99 countries, and usually won. A dazzling showman as well as a great player, Feigner sometimes would pitch from second base, blindfolded, or even from between his legs.

Feigner had a blazing fastball, clocked as fast as 104 mph. Once he struck out in succession six top major league hitters, five of them eventually named to the Hall of Fame: Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Brooks Robinson, Willie McCovey, Maury Wills and Harmon Killebrew. A few years ago, David Schoenfield, ESPN sports editor, compiled a list of what he considered the 10 greatest pitches ever. Along with Bob Feller’s fastball, Randy Johnson’s slider and Pedro Martinez’s changeup, among others, he included Feigner’s fastball.

Feigner threw 930 no-hitters, including 238 perfect games, until he finally was forced by a stroke in 2000 to end his playing career at the age of 75. In 2004, he published his autobiography, aptly entitled “From an Orphan to a King.” What he really wrote the book on, though, was how to overcome an extraordinarily terrible start in life and still become great. The United States is called the Land of Opportunity. It surely was for these two men, whose lives were about playing ball and a whole lot more.

Edward J. Rielly is a Westbrook resident, English professor at St. Joseph’s College, and widely published author with three books on baseball and American culture.