Charles Magnus Gelbert (January 26, 1906 – January 13, 1967) was a

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 ...

player. He played all or part of ten seasons 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 ...

for the

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 ...

(1929–32 and 1935–36),

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1937),

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1937), Washington Senators (1939–40) and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

(1940), primarily as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

Early career

Gelbert, who was born in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

, attended Wissahickon High School in

Ambler, Pennsylvania Ambler is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is located approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the Center City Philadelphia. History Lenape The historical territory of the Lenni Lenape was in the Delaware River Valley, in a ...

, and graduated from

Lebanon Valley College Lebanon Valley College (LVC, Lebanon Valley, or The Valley) is a private college in Annville, Pennsylvania. History Lebanon Valley was founded on February 23, 1866, with classes beginning May 7 of that year and its first class graduating in 18 ...

in 1928. He was the son of

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player Charlie Gelbert, a

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...

end for the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

who later had a brief professional football career with the early athletic clubs. Gelbert began his professional career in 1926 with the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

Syracuse Stars. He was acquired by the Cardinals from the Topeka Jayhawks of the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Wester ...

in 1927, and made his Major League debut less than two years later.

Major League career

Gelbert was the Cardinals' starting shortstop from 1929 to 1932, including the pennant-winning team of 1930, as well as the team that won the 1931 World Series. He finished 25th in voting for the 1931 National League MVP for playing in 131 games and having 447 at bats, 61 runs, 129 hits, 29 doubles, 5 triples, 1 home run, 62 RBI, 7 stolen bases, 54 walks, .289 batting average, .365 on-base percentage, .383 slugging percentage, 171 total bases and 4 sacrifice hits. Gelbert's career was nearly ended when he severely injured his left ankle in a hunting accident, costing him two full seasons. He returned in 1935, but spent the rest of his career as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

. In nine seasons, Gelbert played in 876 games and had 2,869 at bats, 398 runs, 766 hits, 169 doubles, 43 triples, 17 home runs, 350 RBI, 34 stolen bases, 290 walks, .267 batting average, .336 on-base percentage, .374 slugging percentage, 1,072 total bases and 49 sacrifice hits.

Later life

After his playing career, Gelbert served as the coach of the

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

baseball team for 21 years, from 1946 to 1966. He also briefly served as manager of the

Hornell Dodgers The New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league founded in 1978 and sanctioned by the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation and Major League Baseball. Each NYC ...

of the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League) in 1956. On January 13, 1967, Gelbert died in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river that joins the Delaware Ri ...

, at the age of 60.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gelbert, Charlie 1906 births 1967 deaths Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen St. Louis Cardinals players Cincinnati Reds players Detroit Tigers players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Boston Red Sox players Brooklyn Dodgers scouts Los Angeles Dodgers scouts Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Topeka Jayhawks players Rochester Red Wings players Toledo Mud Hens players Lafayette Leopards baseball coaches Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Montreal Royals players Minor league baseball managers Lebanon Valley Flying Dutchmen baseball players Sportspeople from Scranton, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Pennsylvania