A Winner Never Quits (TV film)
Encyclopedia
A Winner Never Quits is a 1986 TV movie based on the true story of baseball player Pete Gray
, the only one-armed man ever to play major league baseball
, hired in 1943 as a "freak attraction" and wartime morale-booster by the Memphis Chicks
, Class-A minor league ball club.
Though a success, Gray maintains a tough, defensive veneer, which is softened only by the love of his life Annie and the adulation of baseball fan Nelson Gary Jr., who has also lost an arm (and who would, in real life, become a top minor-league ballplayer himself). With the war depleting big-league baseball's manpower in 1945, Pete Gray finally achieves his goal of entering the Majors when he is hired by the St. Louis Browns
.
mining town of Nanticoke
, Pete Gray loses his right arm while still a young boy. But through the encouragement of his immigrant parents, Antoinette and Peter Wyshner, Sr., and the constant coaching of his older brother Whitey, Gray never gives up on his dream of playing professional baseball. Driven by anger, he finally makes it to the big leagues. But it isn't until he agrees to meet handicapped youngster Nelson Gary, Jr., who idolizes him, that Gray finally comes to terms with several life realizations.
on August 18, 1993, by Columbia Tri-Star. There is no known DVD
version of the film and the VHS version is long out of print.
Pete Gray
Pete Gray was a professional baseball player best known for playing in the major leagues despite having lost his right arm in a childhood accident.-Early life:...
, the only one-armed man ever to play major league baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, hired in 1943 as a "freak attraction" and wartime morale-booster by the Memphis Chicks
Memphis Chicks
The Memphis Chicks were an American minor league baseball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Chicks were charter members of the Southern Association from 1901 until November 18, 1960, when the club folded and was transferred to Macon, Georgia for 1961.The Chicks suffered a...
, Class-A minor league ball club.
Though a success, Gray maintains a tough, defensive veneer, which is softened only by the love of his life Annie and the adulation of baseball fan Nelson Gary Jr., who has also lost an arm (and who would, in real life, become a top minor-league ballplayer himself). With the war depleting big-league baseball's manpower in 1945, Pete Gray finally achieves his goal of entering the Majors when he is hired by the St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
.
Plot
Raised in the Northeastern PennsylvaniaNortheastern Pennsylvania
Northeastern Pennsylvania is a geographic region of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton and Carbondale....
mining town of Nanticoke
Nanticoke, Pennsylvania
Nanticoke is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,465 at the 2010 census.-History:The name Nanticoke was derived from Nantego, the Indian tidewater people who moved here when their Maryland lands were spoiled for hunting by the colonial settlement in...
, Pete Gray loses his right arm while still a young boy. But through the encouragement of his immigrant parents, Antoinette and Peter Wyshner, Sr., and the constant coaching of his older brother Whitey, Gray never gives up on his dream of playing professional baseball. Driven by anger, he finally makes it to the big leagues. But it isn't until he agrees to meet handicapped youngster Nelson Gary, Jr., who idolizes him, that Gray finally comes to terms with several life realizations.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Keith Carradine Keith Carradine Keith Ian Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film and television. In addition, he is a Golden Globe and Oscar winning songwriter. As a member of the Carradine family, he is part of an acting "dynasty" that began with his father, John Carradine.-Early life:Keith... |
Pete (Wyshner) Gray Pete Gray Pete Gray was a professional baseball player best known for playing in the major leagues despite having lost his right arm in a childhood accident.-Early life:... |
| Mare Winningham Mare Winningham Mare Winningham , born Mary Megan Winningham, is an American actress and singer-songwriter. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award, Golden Globe and Drama Desk, 7 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won an Independent Spirit Award and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.She is... |
Annie |
| G.W. Bailey | Tatum |
| Dennis Weaver Dennis Weaver William Dennis Weaver was an American actor, best known for his work in television, including roles on Gunsmoke, as Marshal Sam McCloud on the NBC police drama McCloud, and the 1971 TV movie Duel.... |
Mr. Wyshner |
| Huckleberry Fox | Nelson Gary, Jr. |
| Jack Kehoe Jack Kehoe Jack Kehoe is an American film actor appearing in a wide variety of films, including the crime dramas Serpico, The Pope of Greenwich Village, and Brian De Palma's 1987 The Untouchables, as well as the 1976 comedy Car Wash, and 1988 cult classic Midnight Run... |
Bloom |
| Fionnula Flanagan | Mrs. Wyshner |
| Ed O'Neill Ed O'Neill Edward Phillip "Ed" O'Neill, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the main character, Al Bundy, on the Fox Network sitcom Married... with Children, for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes... |
Whitey Wyshner |
| Dana Delany Dana Delany Dana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy... |
Nora |
| Charles Hallahan Charles Hallahan Charles John Hallahan was an American film, television and stage actor best known for his performances in Going in Style, The Thing, and Dante's Peak.-Life and career:... |
Nelson Gary Sr. |
| Mary Jo Deschanel Mary Jo Deschanel -Life and career:Deschanel was born as Mary Jo Weir. In her first major appearance in show business in 1983, Deschanel played Annie Glenn, the wife of the astronaut John Glenn in the movie adaptation of the Tom Wolfe book, The Right Stuff.... |
Mrs. Gary |
| Jeff McCracken Jeff McCracken Jeff McCracken is an American actor, director, and producer.After studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City he began his acting career on Broadway and off-Broadway, including Circle Repertory Company where he originated roles in new works by Lanford Wilson and Beth Henley, as well as... |
Sheldrake |
| Steve Rees | Young Pete Gray |
| Andrew Lubeskie | Young Whitey |
Home media
A Winner Never Quits was released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
on August 18, 1993, by Columbia Tri-Star. There is no known DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
version of the film and the VHS version is long out of print.