A Gray day in St. Louis

Pete Gray, the pride of Nanticoke, Pa., makes his major league debut 79 years ago today during the St. Louis Browns' 7-1 victory over Detroit before a Tuesday afternoon crowd of 4,167 at Sportsman's Park.

The one-armed outfielder, batting second and playing left field for the Browns, goes hitless with a strikeout in his first three at-bats off future Hall of Famer Hal Newhouser before picking up a single in the seventh inning off reliever Les Mueller.

The 30-year-old Gray finishes the season with 50 more hits for a .218 batting average in his one and only season in the majors.

Lest you believe Gray is a fluke, consider this: His .333 batting average the summer before in 1944 is among the best in the Southern Association.

Gray, though, earns a reputation for being ornery and curt, often keeping to himself – perceptions that follow him for the rest of his life.

“He was kind of a loner,” Don Gutteridge, the Browns’ second baseman in 1945 tells the Chicago Tribune in 1989. “He wanted to be known as a ballplayer, not a one-armed ballplayer. He didn’t want to be exploited because he had one arm.”