Ever hear the story about the classic movie “The Pride of the Yankees” and how director Sam Wood turned the hopelessly right-handed actor Gary Cooper into a believable version of lefty baseball legend Lou Gehrig? Here’s how Jeffrey Meyers related it in his biography of the Hollywood star, Gary Cooper: American Hero:

Since Cooper couldn’t hit left-handed, the technicians devised an ingenious method of getting around the problem. They reversed the number on his uniform, had him run to third ...