Question: What Texas-born major league baseball pitcher was portrayed in a 1949 film starring Jimmy Stewart?
Answer: Monty Stratton. Born in 1912 in Palacios, he began his career with the Van Alstyne Grays and made his debut for the Chicago White Sox in 1934. During five years with the team, he accumulated a 36–23 record with 196 strikeouts and a 3.71 earned run average. Following the 1938 season, he injured himself while hunting rabbits on his family farm, and his right leg was amputated the next day.
Wearing a prosthetic leg, Stratton worked as a coach and batting practice pitcher for the White Sox, and he played for several minor league teams after World War II. In 1949, MGM released The Stratton Story, which won an Academy Award for best original story.
