A wartime replacement who was an inspiration to millions.
On Sunday, May 20, 1945, the St. Louis Browns trounced the New York Yankees in both games of a doubleheader. Browns outfielder Pete Gray was the star of the day. In the first game he had three hits, driving in two runs and scoring a third. In the second game he scored the go-ahead run, and made a spectacular catch in the outfield.
Pretty spectacular for a guy with one arm.
During World War II, large numbers of baseball players joined the military, so teams had to look for replacements. One of those called up was Pete Gray.
When Gray was six, he fell off a farm wagon and his right arm got caught in the spokes. It had to be amputated at the elbow. A natural right-hander, Gray learned to throw and bat using only his left hand. His passion for baseball led him to spend untold hours perfecting a way to catch a ball, tuck his glove under his stump, then roll the ball across his chest to his throwing hand in one quick motion.
Eventually he quit school to pursue a baseball career. He joined the pennant-contending St. Louis team in 1945 after a stellar year in the minors, where he batted .333 and hit 6 home runs. His major league numbers were nowhere near as strong—he played in only 77 games and batted .211. When the year was out, and the regulars returned, he was gone from the majors for good.
But to many he was a hero. Pete Gray: a man unwilling to let adversity get in the way of a dream.
Gray was asked how good he might have been if he had never lost his arm. “Who knows?” he said. “Maybe I wouldn’t have done as well. I probably wouldn’t have been as determined.”
Newspaper reporters referred to Gray as “Wonder Boy.” Some of Gray’s teammates resented him because they thought he was signed as a gimmick, to put fans in the seats.