Ernest Grover Gilmore (November 1, 1888 – November 25, 1919) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player who played

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

from through in the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

. Listed at and , he batted and threw left-handed. Born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, Gilmore started his Minor leagues career in 1910 with the

Denver Grizzlies Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of th ...

, playing for them one year before joining the San Francisco Seals (1912),

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

(1912) and

Fort Wayne Railroaders The Fort Wayne Railroaders were a minor league baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Between 1903 and 1915, Fort Wayne teams played primarily as members of the Class B (baseball), Class B level Central League (baseball), Central League, wit ...

(1914). Then, in 1914 he joined the

Kansas City Packers The Kansas City Packers were a Federal League baseball club in Kansas City, Missouri from 1914 to 1915. They finished sixth in 1914 with a 67–84 record, and fourth in 1915 with an 81–72 record. The Packers moved to Kansas City in July 1913 ...

of the outlaw

. Gilmore became a regular outfielder for the Packers during the last two seasons of the league. He was solid in his season debut, batting a .287

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

with 23

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s, driving in 32 runs while

scoring SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...

91 more. His only negative was that he became the first

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

batter to log 100

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s in a single season, whiffing 108 times. No rookie until

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

first baseman

Dick Allen Richard Anthony Allen (March 8, 1942 – December 7, 2020), nicknamed "Crash" and "the Wampum Walloper", was an American professional baseball player. During his 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played as a first baseman and thir ...

in 1964 would up 100 strikeouts with a higher batting average, when he hit .318 and was striking out 138 times. The next year Gilmore cut down his strikeouts to 44 and hit .285 in 119 games, while collecting 22 doubles, 15

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

and a career-high 47 RBI. In a two-season career, Gilmore posted a .286 average (269-for-941) with two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 79 RBI in 258 games, including 47 doubles, 20 triples, 42 stolen bases and a .341

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

. He also hit .216 and four homers in 64 minor league games. In 1912, while playing in the minors, Gilmore was on his way to Buffalo after being released by the San Francisco Coast League team. His departure was saddened by the loss of his watch from a fob that he had received from President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

. The theft was given publicity, and two days later a package was received which contained both watch and fob. They were sent to Gilmore.New York Times – July 25, 1912.
/ref> Gilmore was a long-time resident of

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

, where he died at the age of 31.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilmore, Grover Major League Baseball outfielders Kansas City Packers players 20th-century American sportsmen Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Denver Grizzlies (baseball) players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Fort Wayne Railroaders players Baseball players from Sioux City, Iowa 1888 births 1919 deaths Baseball players from Chicago