Pete Gray 2152540 211492820 2008-05-10T17:17:39Z Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) 158051 url {{Mlbretired |bgcolor1=#1c2841 |bgcolor2=#6d7380 |textcolor1=white |textcolor2=white |name=Pete Gray |image=One-ArmedWonder.jpg |width=256 |position=[[Left Field]] |bats=Left |throws=Left |birthdate=[[March 6]], [[1915]] |deathdate={{death date and age|2002|6|30|1915|3|6}} |debutdate=[[April 17]] |debutyear=[[1945]] |debutteam=[[Baltimore Orioles|St. Louis Browns]] |finaldate=[[September 30]] |finalyear=[[1945]] |finalteam=[[Baltimore Orioles|St. Louis Browns]] |stat1label=[[Batting average|AVG]] |stat1value=.218 |stat2label=[[Home run|HR]] |stat2value=0 |stat3label=[[Run batted in|RBI]] |stat3value=13 |teams=<nowiki></nowiki><!--This forces MediaWiki to recognize the first bullet. Kind of a workaround to a bug.--> *[[Baltimore Orioles|St. Louis Browns]] ([[1945 in baseball|1945]]) |highlights=<nowiki></nowiki> ;Notable achievements * Only one-armed man ever to play [[Major League Baseball]] }} '''Pete Gray''' ([[March 6]] [[1915]] &ndash; [[June 30]] [[2002]]) was a [[professional baseball]] player best known for playing in the [[Major League Baseball|major leagues]] despite having lost his right arm in a childhood accident.<ref name=obit>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Pete Gray, Major Leaguer With One Arm, Dies at 87 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE3DA1631F931A35754C0A9649C8B63 |quote=Pete Gray, who became a major league outfielder despite the loss of his right arm in a childhood accident, appearing with the St. Louis Browns for a single season during [[World War II]], died Sunday at a nursing home in [[Sheatown, Pennsylvania]]. He was 87. |publisher=''[[The New York Times]]'' |date=[[July 2]], [[2002]] |accessdate=2007-08-21 }}</ref> ==Biography== ===Early life=== Pete Gray was born as '''Peter Wyshner''' in the mining town of [[Nanticoke, Pennsylvania]]. He was right-handed until he lost his right arm, at age 6, when he slipped while riding on a farmer's wagon and his right arm was caught in the spokes. The arm had to be amputated above the elbow. <ref name=obit/> Gray's enthusiasm for baseball led him to learn to bat and field one-handed, catching the ball in his glove and then quickly removing his glove and transferring the ball to his hand in one motion. ===Career=== His speed and placehitting ability made him a successful minor league outfielder. Gray attained a batting average of .333 and a stolen-base record of 63; as a result, he was named the 1944 Southern League Most Valuable Player. During his career, Gray played for semi-pro teams including the Trois Rivieres Renards of the [[Canadian-American League]], the [[Memphis Chicks]] of the [[Southern Association]] and the [[Brooklyn Bushwicks]]. The [[Baltimore Orioles|St. Louis Browns]] purchased his contract in 1945 from the Memphis Chicks. Wearing uniform number 14 <ref>{{cite book |coauthors= The editors of the Sporting News |title= Baseball A Doubleheader Collection of Facts, Feats, & Firsts |year= 1992|publisher=The Sporting News Publishing Co. |location=St. Louis, Mo. |isbn=0-88365-785-6 }}. </ref>, Gray played [[left fielder|left]] and [[center fielder|center field]] for the Browns. He appeared in 77 games, batting .218 with a .958 fielding percentage in center field. He played competently in the outfield, transferring the ball from glove to hand with remarkable quickness. He collected his first major league hit (a single) against the Detroit Tigers on April 17, 1945. On May 19 the one-armed rookie realized his boyhood dream of playing in Yankee Stadium, collecting five hits and two RBI as the Browns swept the Yankees. Against the odds, Gray also proved to be an accomplished bunter. In order to bunt, he would plant the knob of the bat against his side. Then he would slide his hand about a third of the way up the shaft of the bat. As the season progressed, however, it became apparent that Gray could not hit breaking pitches. Once he started his swing, he could not change his timing because he had no second hand to check the swing. It wasn't long before opposing pitchers discovered that fact and fed him a steady diet of curve balls. Gray's on-field exploits set an inspirational example for disabled servicemen returning from [[World War II]], as was portrayed in newsreels of the period. He visited army hospitals and rehabilitation centers, speaking with amputees and reassuring them that they too could lead a productive life. ===Later years and death=== Gray’s major league career ended on [[V-J Day]] when many of baseball’s stars returned from the battlefront. From 1946 to 1949, he played on as a journeyman minor leaguer with the Toledo Mud Hens, Elmira Pioneers and Dallas Stars. Left to wonder if he had made the majors on his playing abilities or because of his one arm, Gray returned home to Nanticoke where, although a local hero/celebrity, he struggled with gambling, alcohol and lived in near poverty. {{Fact|date=October 2007}} He died at age 87.<ref name=obit/> ==Legacy== *Pete Gray's glove is in the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum]] in [[Cooperstown, New York]]. *The 1986 television-movie ''[[A Winner Never Quits (TV film)|A Winner Never Quits]]'' starring [[Keith Carradine]], and the publication of Gray's biography, ''One-Armed Wonder: Pete Gray, Wartime Baseball, and the American Dream'' written by William C. Kashatus, published in 1995 by McFarland & Company, renewed public interest in Gray. ==Quote== {{cquote|Boys, I can’t fight, and so there is no courage about me.<br> Courage belongs on the battlefield, not on the baseball diamond.}}{{Fact|date=June 2007}} <nowiki>"The fans still remember Pete Gray, because he was incredible."--Mark Christman from the Ultimate Baseball Book</nowiki> ==Notes== *Bill Gilbert, ''They Also Served: Baseball and the Homefront'' (New York: Crown, 1992). *Richard Goldstein, ''Spartan Seasons: How Baseball Survived the Second World War'' (New York: Macmillan, 1980). *William C Kashatus, ''Baseball's One-Armed Wonder: An Interview with the Late Great, Pete Gray'' Pennsylvania Heritage (Spring 2003). ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *{{imdb title|id=0092221|title=A Winner Never Quits}} *{{baseball-reference|id=g/graype01}} *[http://www.explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?markerId=22 Pete Gray Pennsylvania Historical Marker] *[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=gray&GSfn=pete&GSby=1920&GSbyrel=before&GSdy=2000&GSdyrel=after&GSob=n&GRid=7514197& Pete Gray at Find A Grave.com] {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Pete}} [[Category:1915 births]] [[Category:2002 deaths]] [[Category:Disabled sportspeople]] [[Category:Major league left fielders]] [[Category:Major league outfielders]] [[Category:Major league players from Pennsylvania]] [[Category:People from the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area]] [[Category:St. Louis Browns players]] [[Category:American amputees]] [[Category:Baseball lore]]