| Billy Gilbert | |
|---|---|
 Gilbert with the Giants in 1905 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born:(1876-06-21)June 21, 1876 Tullytown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Died: August 8, 1927(1927-08-08) (aged 51) New York, New York, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 25, 1901, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 27, 1909, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .247 |
| Home runs | 4 |
| Runs batted in | 237 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
William Oliver Gilbert (June 21, 1876 – August 8, 1927) was an American professionalbaseballsecond baseman who played from the 1890s through 1912. Gilbert played inMajor League Baseball from 1901 to 1909, for theMilwaukee Brewers,Baltimore Orioles,New York Giants, andSt. Louis Cardinals.
Standing at just 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m), Gilbert was a weak hitter but a good defensive second baseman. He hit .313 in the1905 World Series, which the Giants won.
Gilbert made his professionalbaseball debut inminor league baseball with Lewiston of the Maine State League and thePawtucket Phenoms and Fall River Indians of the Class-BNew England League in 1897.[1] He pitched for the Lyons franchise and the Johnston/Palmyra Mormans in theNew York State League in 1898.[1] Now rated a Class-C league, Gilbert returned to the New York State League to play for theUtica Pent-Ups in 1899.[1]
TheMilwaukee Brewers of theAmerican League (AL) drafted Gilbert in 1900. They assigned him to theSyracuse Stars of the Class-AEastern League for the season.[1]
Gilbert made his major league debut with the Brewers in 1901. After the season,Baltimore Oriolesplayer-managerJohn McGraw bought his contract from the Brewers prior to the 1902 season.[1]
McGraw jumped to theNew York Giants of theNational League during the 1902 season. He signed Gilbert to the Giants for the 1903 season and installed him as the team's startingsecond baseman.[1] Not a highly regarded hitter, Gilbert contributed with his bat as the Giants defeated thePhiladelphia Athletics in the1905 World Series,[2][3] leading the team inbatting average during the series.[4]
He played with the Giants through the 1906 season. Down the stretch in 1906, McGraw replaced Gilbert withSammy Strang, who produced better offense.[4] After the season, the Giants tried to assign Gilbert to theNewark Indians of the Class-AEastern League.[5] Not wanting to play in Newark,[4] Gilbert refused to report. Wanting to stay in the NL, Gilbert attempted to negotiate a contract with theBrooklyn Superbas.[6]
Unable to sign with Brooklyn, he contemplated signing with an outlaw team.[7] Instead, Gilbert played for theTrenton Tigers of the Class-BTri-State League in 1907, andcoached theColumbia Lions, thecollege baseball team ofColumbia University.[6]
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Gilbert returned to the major leagues in 1908 with theSt. Louis Cardinals. After the Cardinals firedJohn McCloskey as their manager after the 1908 season, Gilbert was considered for the job.[8][9] They instead acquiredRoger Bresnahan and made him theirplayer-manager.[10] He made his final major league appearance on June 27, 1909, and served as a Cardinals'scout during the remainder of the season.[11] He was released by Cardinals manager Roger Bresnahan, a former teammate with the Giants, in March 1910.[12]
Gilbert played for theAlbany Senators of the now Class-B New York State League in 1910.[13] He served asplayer-manager for theErie Sailors when they competed in the Class-COhio–Pennsylvania League in 1911[13][14] and the Class-BCentral League in 1912.[15] Gilbert stayed with Erie, competing in the Class-BInterstate League, as manager in 1913.[16] He was fired after the season.[17]
Gilbert spent the next few seasons managing independent teams in New York. Gilbert was hired to manage theWaterbury Brasscos in the Class-AEastern League in 1921[18] and 1922, leading them to a second-place finish.[19] He managed theDenver Bears of the Class-AWestern League in 1923,[20][21] andPittsfield Hillies in the Eastern League in 1924.[19] Gilbert then served as a scout for theNewark Indians of the Class-AAInternational League.[22]
During his career, Gilbert was highly regarded for his work ethic.[23] He was described as taking after McGraw.[24]
Gilbert died on August 8, 1927, at his home in New York as a result ofapoplexy.[25][26] He attended adoubleheader in Newark the day before, and was reportedly in good health.[22]
· Baseball Almanac
