Major League Baseball Player, Broadcaster, Motion Picture Subject. For seventeen seasons (1950 and 1952 to 1967), he played in the outfield (mainly centerfield) with the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, New York Mets and Los Angeles/California Angels. Piersall was portrayed by Anthony Perkins in the motion picture "Fear Strikes Out" (1957), of which was based on his 1955 autobiography of the same title. Piersall will be remembered for hitting his 100th career home run on June 23, 1963 and marking the occasion by trotting around the bases in the correct order, backwards. Born James Anthony Piersall, he attended Leavenworth High School in Waterbury, Connecticut, where he was a multi-sport athlete who excelled in baseball and basketball. Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1948, he made his Major League debut on September 7, 1950 and played in six games that year. His rookie season (1952) was marred by erratic behavior which resulted in him being sent back to the Minor Leagues and a period of confinement to a mental institution. Piersall was diagnosed with manic depression or bipolar disorder. His mother also suffered from mental illness. In spite of this, he would go on to a highly-productive career, both offensively and defensively. He achieved all star status twice (1954 and 1956) and in 1956, he led the league with 40 doubles. In 1958 and 1961, he distinguished himself when he received a Gold Glove Award for each of those years. In 1,734 career regular season games, he compiled 1,604 hits, with a lifetime .272 batting average. After retiring as a player, he worked as a Minor League manager, prior to becoming a broadcaster with the Chicago White Sox. However, his often controversial comments got him into difficulty with the team's front office of which resulted in his being fired in 1983. He served as a roving hitting instructor with the Chicago Cubs, but following critical comments made at the front office, he was fired from that position in 1999. He also hosted his own radio program. He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2010.