# Identify this baseball player (from a grainy TV screencap)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [September 16, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923 "2010-09-16T01:51:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/1 "2010-09-16T01:51:21Z")
I belong to a board devoted to “The Twilight Zone.” An episode (“The Fugitive” by Charles Beaumont) had this photo on a desk or table in the background. Fans there became curious but could not identify him. Anyone have any idea?
Thanks in advance.
Sir Rhosis
[ ](http://soulmusicreview.com/tz/ballplayer.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/2 "2010-09-16T01:56:40Z")
> [@Sir\_Rhosis](#):
>
> I belong to a board devoted to “The Twilight Zone.” An episode (“The Fugitive” by Charles Beaumont) had this photo on a desk or table in the background. Fans there became curious but could not identify him. Anyone have any idea?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Sir Rhosis
> [http://soulmusicreview.com/tz/ballplayer.jpg](http://soulmusicreview.com/tz/ballplayer.jpg)
It looks like he plays for the White Sox, judging by his emblem. “Sholess” Joe Jackson, perhaps?
ETA: Or is that the cubs? Hack Wilson?
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/3 "2010-09-16T02:14:47Z")
Why not the Cubs, assuming 1930-1950’s?
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### Author:  [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/4 "2010-09-16T02:22:27Z")
Agree that the emblem could be White Sox, or Cubs.
Shoeless Joe Jackson (White Sox) had a more pronounced nose, and Hack Wilson (Cubs) had a thicker, wider face (and body).
The first thing I thought when I saw the pic was. “Joe DiMaggio!”, but the only teams I know he played for (off the top of my head) are the San Francisco Seals and the Yankees.
Other than that, I got nuthin’. \* Next up!\*
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/5 "2010-09-16T02:23:56Z")
[QUOTE=F. U. Shakespeare]
The first thing I thought when I saw the pic was. “Joe DiMaggio!”, but the only teams I know he played for (off the top of my head) are the San Francisco Seals and the Yankees.]
[/QUOTE]
My same thought, from looking at that terrible picture.
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### Author:  [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/6 "2010-09-16T02:30:39Z")
Stan Musial?
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/7 "2010-09-16T02:42:58Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#):
>
> Stan Musial?
Absolutely not
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### Author:  [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/8 "2010-09-16T02:49:13Z")
I’m not very confident in this guess, but maybe Ted Lyons? (Second from left in [this photo](http://pictopia.com/perl/get_image?provider_id=334&size=550x550_mb&ptp_photo_id=4611826))
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### Author:  [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/9 "2010-09-16T02:54:34Z")
Definitely White Sox. My first thought was Ted Lyons.
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/10 "2010-09-16T03:08:29Z")
Another view of Lyons.
[ ](http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/279/468/Ted-lyons_display_image.jpg?1277924720)
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### Author:  [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [September 16, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/11 "2010-09-16T03:14:34Z")
Here’s a 1925 image of Lyons. Pretty good resemblance.
[ ](http://www.dugout-memories.com/cws1918c.jpg)
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### Author:  [@CowGoesMoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CowGoesMoo)
#### Post date: [July 11, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-this-baseball-player-from-a-grainy-tv-screencap/553923/12 "2020-07-11T14:53:45Z")
I’m 10 years late to the table, so I hope people are still interested, but the ballplayer in question is Monty Stratton. He pitched for the White Sox in the mid-1930s. His major league career came to an end due to a hunting accident in which he accidentally shot himself in the leg. His leg was amputated as a result. After being fit with an artificial leg, he was able to succeed in the minor leagues. He was the subject of a movie “The Stratton Story” in which he was played by Jimmy Stewart.
Monty Stratton is a perfect hero for Jenny, who also needed a brace to walk. As a Chicago resident and baseball fan, writer Charles Beaumont would surely have known about him.
The bulletin board won’t let me post a picture, but here’s a link to a website that does have a picture for comparison purposes. The picture on the wall of the set is quite dark, but it should be apparent that these are the same people.
> **[Monty “Gander” Stratton (1912-1982) - Find a...](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7451/monty-stratton)**
>
> Major League Baseball Player. Born in in Wagner, Texas, he was a right handed pitcher making his debut for the Chicago White Sox on June 2, 1934. For five seasons, he played with the Chicago White Sox, until he had to leave the game after he lost his...