Pete Gray : A Baseball Oddity

When you read about the history of baseball, familiar names continually pop up. Ruth Gehrig, Dimaggio, Mantle, Robinson are all names popular with baseball fans. Let me share with you the story of one player that doesn't come up in many conversations, but this fellow was certainly the most unique player in the history of the game.

His name was Pete Gray and his entry into pro ball was quite an auspicious one. We first see his career begin in the Canadian-American League in 1942. Playing the outfield for the Trois-Rivieres team, Pete wound up the year leading the league in hitting with a lofty .381 batting average. From that great start, he was promoted to Memphis in the Southern Association. As a member of the Memphis Chicks, he hit a respectable .289 in 1943. The following year Pete really hit his stride punishing Southern Association pitching at a.333 clip.

After three excellent years in the minor leagues, Pete was called up to the majors by the St. Louis Browns. Now the Browns had won the pennant in 1944, so they had a pretty good team during the war years when many of the stars were off fighting our enemies. Pete didn't fair as well with Major League pitching as he had in the minors, but in 253 plate appearances, he only struck out 11 times. His batting average dropped off to .218 and by 1946 Pete was back in the minor leagues. He continued for four more years in the minors and by 1949 he was out of baseball.

Now why am I telling you this story ? It would seem that Pete was like thousands of other young men who came through the minors and when given a chance in the big show, didn't deliver enough to stay with the Major League club. Here's where the story gets interesting. One summer day in 1945 when I was seven years old, my dad took me to Yankee Stadium to see my heroes. I loved baseball but remember there was no television. We had good seats and we arrived early enough to see batting and fielding practice. The Browns were in town and they were in the field hitting fungoes to the outfielders. I watched Pete in left field going through his paces. He did everything very smoothly. During the game Pete performed well. He got a couple of hits and all in all it was a good day. So what made Pete so different that I'm devoting a whole blog to him ? What was amazing about Pete was the fact that he only had one arm. He had lost his right arm in a farming accident.

Being a pro baseball player myself, I know how difficult it is to do the things necessary to succeed in baseball with two arms. To accomplish what Pete did with only his left arm is something that to this day still seems almost impossible to me. Pete was truly an example of American Exceptionalism.

Sy Bonem

draft 8/20/10 by Capitalism Lives Delete
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