Pete Wyshner was born in 1914 in the town of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. He was right handed until, at the age of 6, he fell off his father's wagon and caught his right arm in the wheel, losing it above the elbow. He worked on building his skill with his left hand and, as a fan of baseball, he eventually developed a unique technique that allowed him to throw and catch.
Playing as Pete Gray, he made it into the minor leagues. In 1945, while most ballplayers were at war, he made it to the majors, playing for the St. Louis Browns between April 17, 1945 and September 30, 1945. The US Military, capitalizing on the fame of a one-armed baseball player, sent him to visit wounded and recovering veterans, who saw him as a hero for achieving success despite his disability. He never saw himself that way, however, and he was never comfortable with the label.
"Boys, I can’t fight, and so there is no courage about me.
Courage belongs on the battlefield, not on the baseball diamond."
The end of his short lived major league career coincided with the end of WWII. He continued in the minors for the rest of the decade, then left the sport entirely.
-Professor Walter
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