farm boy Monty Stratton demonstrates a knack for pitching a baseball. With the help of washed-up, catcher-turned-scout Barney Wile, he manages to get a tryout with the ChicagoWhite Sox during their spring training in California. He shows promise and is given a contract. On his first evening at spring training, he is introduced to a young woman named Ethel. They start dating and fall in love. Stratton must part from Ethel to go to Chicago. When Stratton is sent down to a minor league team, he proposes marriage. Stratton is called back up to the White Sox and returns to Chicago with his newlywed bride. By the end of the season, they're expecting a child. Next season, he is pitching an away game and doesn't seem to be able to keep his mind on the game. He wishes he was with his wife who's giving birth in Chicago. When he is notified that he has a son, he throws a wild pitch and is taken out of the game—grinning from ear to ear. As his career progresses, Stratton improves so much that he's voted an all-star in the American League. In the off-season of 1938, Stratton accidentally shoots himself in his right leg while hunting on his farm in Texas. When his leg has to be amputated, it looks as though his pitching career is over. He understandably goes through a very dark, brooding period. Nevertheless, with the support of his wife and a wooden leg, Stratton learns to walk along with his baby boy. He works hard and starts practicing his pitching again. He makes an inspirational, successful minor league comeback in 1946.
Ronald Reagan had sought the title role but was under contract with Warner Bros., which did not want to release Reagan for the film because they thought the movie would be a failure. Van Johnson was also announced at one stage to play the lead.
Production
Scenes were staged at various baseball parks, including: Brookside Park in Pasadena, a spring training site for the White Sox.
Wrigley Field, the Los Angeles version, was used in some scenes.
Stock footage was used of some other American League baseball parks, in establishing shots.
Moorehead reportedly met her second husband, actor Robert Gist, during the making of this film.
Reception
According to MGM records the film earned $3,831,000 in the US and Canada and $657,000 overseas resulting in a profit of $1,211,000. It was one of the most popular films of the year.
Radio adaptation
The story was also adapted for a CBSLux Radio Theatre episode in 1949 as "The Stratton Story". Stewart and Allyson repeated their roles for the program.
