William Oliver Gilbert (June 21, 1876 – August 8, 1927) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

second baseman who played from the 1890s through 1912. Gilbert played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

from 1901 to 1909, for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. Standing at just , Gilbert was a weak hitter but a good defensive second baseman. He did hit .313 in the

1905 World Series The 1905 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1905 season. It was the second edition of the World Series after the 1903 Series, since the 1904 season ended with no Series held. The 1905 Series matched the Nat ...

, which the Giants won.

Baseball career

Early career

Gilbert made his

debut in minor league baseball with Lewiston of the Maine State League and the

Pawtucket Phenoms Pawtucket may refer to: * Pawtucket, Rhode Island * Pawtucket Falls (Massachusetts), Lowell, Massachusetts * Pawtucket tribe * 2 ships named USS Pawtucket * Pawtucket Brewery, fictional brewery on the television series ''Family Guy ''Famil ...

and Fall River Indians of the Class-B

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

in 1897. He pitched for the Lyons franchise and the Johnston/Palmyra Mormans in the

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eight ...

in 1898. Now rated a Class-C league, Gilbert returned to the New York State League to play for the Utica Pent-Ups in 1899. The

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

(AL) drafted Gilbert in 1900. They assigned him to the Syracuse Stars of the Class-A

Eastern League Eastern League may refer to: Baseball in the United States ''Most recent leagues listed first'' * Eastern League (1938–present), a minor league established in 1923 and renamed Eastern League in 1938, at the Double-A level * Eastern League (1916� ...

for the season.

MLB career

Gilbert made his MLB debut with the Brewers in 1901. After the season,

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 189 ...

bought his contract from the Brewers prior to the 1902 season. New York Giants second baseman Billy Gilbert, standing on the field at West Side Grounds

New York Giants second baseman Billy Gilbert, standing on the field at West Side Grounds

McGraw jumped to the

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

during the 1902 season. He signed Gilbert to the Giants for the 1903 season and installed him as the team's starting second baseman.The Pittsburgh Press – Google News Archive Search
/ref> Not a highly regarded hitter, Gilbert contributed with his bat as the Giants defeated the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakla ...

in the

, leading the team in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

during the series.The Day – Google News Archive Search
/ref> He played with the Giants through the 1906 season. Down the stretch in 1906, McGraw replaced Gilbert with Sammy Strang, who produced better offense. After the season, the Giants tried to assign Gilbert to the

Newark Indians The Newark Sailors, later known as the Newark Indians, were a minor league baseball team in the early twentieth century. The team played its games at Wiedenmayer's Park in Newark, New Jersey. Newark played in the Eastern League between 1908 and 1 ...

of the Class-A

. Not wanting to play in Newark, Gilbert refused to report. Wanting to stay in the NL, Gilbert attempted to negotiate a contract with the

Brooklyn Superbas The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Califo ...

. Unable to sign with Brooklyn, he contemplated signing with an outlaw team. Instead, Gilbert played for the

Trenton Tigers The Trenton Tigers were an American basketball team based in Trenton, New Jersey that was a member of the American Basketball League. In the 1946/47 season, the team made it to the championship playoffs where they were to meet the Baltimore Bu ...

of the Class-B

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second leagu ...

in 1907, and coached the

Columbia Lions The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is Peter Pilling. Ivy League athletics T ...

, the

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

team of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

.The Meriden Daily Journal – Google News Archive Search
/ref> Billy Gilbert (baseball)

Gilbert returned to MLB in 1908 with the

. After the Cardinals fired

John McCloskey John McCloskey (March 10, 1810 – October 10, 1885) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first American born Archbishop of New York from 1864 until his death in 1885, having previously served as Bishop o ...

as their manager after the 1908 season, Gilbert was considered for the job. They instead acquired

Roger Bresnahan Roger Philip Bresnahan (June 11, 1879 – December 4, 1944), nicknamed "The Duke of Tralee", was an American player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, Bresnahan competed in MLB for the Washington Senators (1897), Chicago ...

and made him their

. He made his final MLB appearance on June 27, 1909, and served as a Cardinals'

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

during the remainder of the season. He was released by Cardinals manager Roger Bresnahan, a former teammate with the Giants, in March 1910.

Later career

Gilbert played for the

Albany Senators The Albany Senators was a name used by multiple minor league baseball teams representing Albany, New York, that existed between 1885 and 1959. The mid-20th century club played at Hawkins Stadium. The various editions of the Senators generally pla ...

of the now Class-B New York State League in 1910. He served as

for the

Erie Sailors The Erie Sailors was the primary name of several minor league baseball teams that played in Erie, Pennsylvania between 1906 and 1994. Pre-1930s Several unrelated teams used the Erie Sailors name in the Interstate League (1906–1907, 1913, 19 ...

when they competed in the Class-C

Ohio–Pennsylvania League The Ohio–Pennsylvania League (1905–1912) was a Class C and Class D level minor league baseball league that featured franchises based in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The league was founded by Charlie Morton and operated for ei ...

in 1911Youngstown Vindicator – Google News Archive Search
/ref> and the Class-B

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

in 1912. Gilbert stayed with Erie, competing in the Class-B

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

, as manager in 1913. He was fired after the season. Gilbert spent the next few seasons managing independent teams in New York. Gilbert was hired to manage the

Waterbury Brasscos Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...

in the Class-A

in 1921 and 1922, leading them to a second-place finish. He managed the

Denver Bears Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

of the Class-A Western League in 1923, and

Pittsfield Hillies The Pittsfield Hillies were an Eastern League (baseball, 1916-32), Eastern League (Class A) baseball team from 1919 to 1930. They were League Champions in 1919 and 1921. Their home field was at Wahconah Park, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. 1905 The P ...

in the Eastern League in 1924.Providence News – Google News Archive Search
/ref> Gilbert then served as a scout for the

of the Class-AA

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

.Meriden Record – Google News Archive Search
/ref> During his career, Gilbert was highly regarded for his work ethic. He was described as taking after McGraw.

Later life

Gilbert died on August 8, 1927, at his home in New York as a result of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

. He attended a doubleheader in Newark the day before, and was reportedly in good health.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Billy 1876 births 1927 deaths Major League Baseball infielders Milwaukee Brewers (1901) players Baltimore Orioles (1901–02) players New York Giants (NL) players St. Louis Cardinals players Minor league baseball managers Trenton Tigers players Albany Senators players Erie Sailors players Columbia Lions baseball coaches Baseball players from Pennsylvania People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania Palmyra Mormans players Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York)