Бір қолды ғажайып: Бейсболшы Питер Грейдің өмірі мен мансабы

American baseball player

Peter James Gray (né Wyshner; March 6, 1915 – June 30, 2002) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played for the St. Louis Browns of Major League Baseball for one season in 1945. He was notable for playing despite having lost his right arm in a childhood accident.

Peter Gray (sometimes spelled as Peter Grey) was born as Peter J. Wyshner in the mining town of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania on March 6, 1915. He was one of five children born to Lithuanian immigrants Antoinette and Peter Wyshner. His father worked in the coal mines of northeastern Pennsylvania to support his family. His older brother became a boxer in the middleweight division and went under the name Whitey Gray (boxed 1921–1928). During his time as a boxer, Whitey Gray won six matches by KO, lost five (three of which were KO's), had three newspaper decision wins, and two newspaper decision draws. In total, Whitey had 16 bouts with a 37.5% KO rate and boxed a total of 45 rounds. Wyshner was right handed, but lost his right arm at age seven or eight, as a result of a wagon accident in 1923. His arm had to be amputated above the elbow. But Wyshner was so enthusiastic about baseball that he learned 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. Seven years after his accident, Wyshner completed his formal education at age 13 and began working as a water boy at the Truesdale Colliery.

Gray's speed and placehitting ability made him a successful minor league outfielder. He attained a batting average of .333 and a stolen base record of 63; as a result, he was named the 1944 Southern Association's Most Valuable Player. During his career, Gray played for teams including the Trois Rivières Renards of the Canadian–American League, the Memphis Chicks of the Southern Association and the Brooklyn Bushwicks. In 1942, Gray signed with the minor league team called the Three Rivers Club of the Canadian–American League. At his first game, the crowd poured out to see him. Gray's chance to shine came in the bottom of the ninth. There were already two outs and the bases were loaded. As he approached the plate, the crowd went crazy. Gray hit a line drive to the right field, which drove in the tying and winning runs. The fans were so happy and excited that they threw money onto the field, roughly $700 total. While with the team that season, Gray hit .381. After breaking his collarbone and tearing a ligament, he was only able to play in 42 games. Gray's success and ability to draw a crowd helped attract the notice of the Memphis Chicks, another minor league team, and they signed him. While Gray was climbing the ladder of the minors, sportswriters nicknamed him the "One Armed Wonder." Gray had about six successful seasons in the minors before joining the majors for one season. He returned to the minors for about another four seasons as a journeyman. In 1944, while still with the Chicks, he batted .333 and had a league leading 68 stolen bases. That same year, he was awarded the Most Valuable Player of the Southern Association and that year the Philadelphia Sports Writers recognized Pete Gray as the "Most Courageous Athlete." Gray quickly responded with, "Boys, I can't fight, and so there is no courage about me. Courage belongs on the battlefield, not on the baseball diamond."

While playing the field, Pete Gray wore a glove without padding. When the ball was hit in his direction he would place the glove directly in front of himself; roughly about shoulder height. When the ball hit the glove he would roll the ball across his chest from left to right. During this motion he learned to rest the glove under his right stump and the ball would roll into his left hand. When ground balls were hit his way he would let it bounce off his glove at knee height and drop the glove completely to grab the ball while it was still in the air. He was faster in these motions and techniques than some players who had the use of both hands. When backing up another outfielder during a play, he would drop the glove completely and was ready to take the ball with his bare hand. While at bat he used a full weight bat. His position and stance at the plate was just like any other player. He placed his hand about six inches up on the handle. In order to bunt, he planted the knob of the bat against his side, and then slid his hand about one third of the way up the shaft of the bat. He was described by sports writers and players as a pure pull hitter.

Gray's major league career ended that same year when many of baseball's stars returned from the battlefront and assumed their previous positions on the diamond. From 1946 to 1949, he played on as a journeyman minor leaguer with the Toledo Mud Hens, Elmira Pioneers and Dallas Stars. Gray returned home to Nanticoke where, although a local hero/celebrity, he struggled with gambling and alcohol, and lived in near poverty. Having only accomplished one year in the majors, he spent the rest of his life wondering if he was ever really good enough to have been there or if he was just an entertainment attraction for the owners to make money. This personal struggle was one of the possible reasons for his struggle with gambling and alcohol after he left baseball. Before his death, however, he regained a sense of integrity about his accomplishments with the success of both the TV movie and the biography about his life. The 1986 television movie A Winner Never Quits, starring Keith Carradine and Mare Winningham, 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. Gray shunned public attention for most of his life after baseball. He died on June 30, 2002, at the age of 87 and is buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania. On Sunday, August 24, 2003, Gray was recognized by the Historical and Museum Commission in Pennsylvania when they placed a roadside marker in his hometown. The location of the marker is Front St., Hanover section, Nanticoke, Luzerne County in the Poconos/Endless Mountains Region.