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Baseball's One-Armed Outfielder

Pete Gray Was Baseball's Best Physically Challenged Player

May 30, 2007

When Pete Gray lost his arm in a childhood accident, he thought his dream of playing professional baseball would never come true. He was wrong.

When he was a boy, Pete Gray often dreamed of playing baseball in Yankee Stadium. A natural right-hander, the boy excelled in pony baseball and by the time he was twelve years old, the coach from his local high school was constantly hounding Pete's father to let the youngster play for his school. Shortly after his dad agreed to the proposal, tragedy occurred.

Pete Gray Loses His Right Arm

One day while doing chores on the family's Pennsylvania farm with his father, Pete slipped and fell off his father's pickup truck's running board. Young Pete slipped under the truck, which ran over his right arm, and completely crushed it. A few days later, doctors amputated the limb at the shoulder.

Although he was initially depressed from his accident, Pete soon rallied, and decided that his dream of paying Major League baseball would not be deterred. In time, he learned to throw with his left hand and hit while holding the bat with his only hand. To play defense, Gray learned to field the ball in his glove, then quickly flip the horsehide into the air while he dropped his glove, and catch the ball as it fell into his now bare left hand. His speed, strong throwing arm, and excellent athletic ability allowed Pete to perform this minor miracle quickly enough to be a solid, dependable outfielder.

Gray Continues Playing With One Arm

By the time he was 15 years old, Pete Gray was playing for the same coach who fell in love with the kid's skills just three years earlier. After graduating from high school, Pete knocked around the lower minor leagues and the semi-pro circuits in the hopes of catching on with a Major League franchise. Against all odds, he latched on with the Memphis Chicks of the Southern League in 1942, and by the 1944 season, the one-armed outfielder batted .333, stole 63 bases, and won the League's Most Valuable Player award. The Major League scouts who began following him that year were astounded.

Pete Gray Fulfills His Dream of Becoming a Major Leaguer

Prior to the 1945 season, the St. Louis Browns purchased Pete Gray's contract. Gray made his Major League debut for the Browns on April 17, 1945. To the amazement of his teammates and the park's fans alike, Gray picked up his first hit, a single to center field, in just his second at bat. A month later, the one-armed outfielder lived out his boyhood dream when the Browns traveled to New York to play the Yankees. The Browns swept the Yankees in the three game set, and Gray played a major role in his team's victory, picking up five hits and two RBI in the series.

During that season, which was his only year in the Majors, Gray appeared in 77 games, hit .218 and drove in 13 runs. He also posted a .958 fielding percentage (which was higher than Manny Ramirez's percentage in 2002), stole 5 bases and had 6 sacrifice bunts.

Gray's Impact on World War II Veterans

Although Gray was not a Hall of Fame level player, he was an inspiration to the veteran soldiers returning home from World War II, many of whom were missing limbs. He was featured in newsreels form the era, and often visited hospitals and rehabilitation centers, speaking with amputees and reassuring them that they could still have a productive life.

Post-Baseball Life and Death

Gray's Major League career ended on September 30, 1945 when the Browns released him. The outfielder bumped around the minors for three more years before finally hanging up the cleats in 1949. Left to wonder whether the Browns signed him simply because of his draw as a one-armed outfielder, Gray spent many years battling depression, alcoholism, and a gambling problem that drove him to the brink of poverty.

His luck changed for the better in the 1980s, when he wrote and sold an autobiography and when ABC Television did a two-hour movie about his life. This led to speaking engagements and card signing shows that helped resolve his financial problems and also helped Gray with his personal problems.

He eventually passed away on June 30, 2002 at the age of 87.

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