![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/resizer\/BbTLaO0uJmIm8M61N5TQnNFWDuE=\/1200x0\/filters:quality(100)\/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com\/mco\/3EKPRUT27VDRDNRYEVPRLYZJRA.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This is a brief story about a handicapped ball player from the 1940s who became an inspiration to disabled World War II vets.\u00a0 His name was Pete Gray.<\/p>\n
From the article:\u00a0 At age six, while hitching a ride home on a grocer\u2019s delivery truck, Gray slipped off and his right arm was crushed by the truck\u2019s wheel. Gray was rushed to the hospital, where his arm was amputated from the elbow down.<\/p>\n
Undeterred, the formerly right-handed Gray was intent on accepting no favors for his disability. So, he became a lefty, removing \u201calmost all the padding from his glove to provide greater feel for catches and to help him draw the ball clear to throw after placing the glove under the stump of his right shoulder,\u201d according to the\u00a0New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n As a teen Gray began chasing his professional aspirations by starting as the lowly mascot for a semi-pro club in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. He soon turned that gig into a starting position on the team.<\/p>\n Gray continued to bounce around semi-pro clubs until 1941, when he gave up baseball and attempted to join the Army after the attack on Pearl Harbor. – article<\/p>\n When he tried to enlist in the Army during WWII, he was turned down because of his missing forearm. Frustrated, he worked harder and became a major league player, batting .333 with 5 home runs, stealing 68 bases and becoming the league\u2019s outstanding outfield player.<\/p>\n