Kid Gleason

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Kid Gleason
Kid Gleason
Second Baseman/Pitcher/Manager
Born: October 26, 1866
Camden, New Jersey
Died: January 2, 1933 (aged 66)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Batted: Both Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 20, 1888
for the Philadelphia Quakers
Final game
August 27, 1912
for the Chicago White Sox
Career statistics
Batting average     .261
Runs batted in     823
Pitching record     138-131
Teams

As Player

As Manager
Career highlights and awards
  • National League pennant: 1894, 1895
  • American League pennant: 1919
  • 3 seasons with a .300+ batting average
  • 4 20-win seaons
  • San Francisco Giants All-Time At Bats per Strikeout Leader (41.6)
A 1919 photograph of Gleason as the manager of the Chicago White Sox
A 1919 photograph of Gleason as the manager of the Chicago White Sox

William J. "Kid" Gleason (October 26, 1866 – January 2, 1933) was an American professional athlete and Major League Baseball player and manager. Gleason is best known as the betrayed manager of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, the team made infamous by the Black Sox scandal, in which Gleason's players conspired to intentionally lose the World Series.

Gleason was born in Camden, New Jersey. He acquired the nickname "Kid" early in life, not only because of his short stature but also because of his energetic, youthful nature. Gleason debuted as a pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies on April 20, 1888. He enjoyed several successful seasons, especially 1891 (38 wins), before becoming a second baseman. He was the starting second baseman for the old Baltimore Orioles in 1895. Gleason achieved a .261 career batting average before retiring after the 1912 season.

He began his career as a manager with the White Sox on December 31, 1918. The Black Sox scandal resulted in lifetime bans from baseball for eight White Sox players. Gleason, however, had no knowledge of the conspiracy. Although he felt betrayed and disappointed by his 1919 team, he continued to manage the White Sox until 1923.

After leaving the White Sox in 1923, Kid Gleason would go on to coach under Manager Connie Mack with the Philadelphia Athletics until his death, of a heart ailment, in 1933, at the age of 66, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is buried in Philadelphia's Northwood Cemetery.

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[edit] External links

Preceded by
Pants Rowland		 Chicago White Sox Manager
1919-1923		 Succeeded by
Johnny Evers
v • d • e
Chicago White Sox managers
Griffith • Callahan • Jones • Sullivan • Duffy • Callahan • Rowland • Gleason • Evers • Walsh • Collins • Schalk • Blackburne • Bush • Fonseca • Dykes • Lyons • Onslow • Corriden • Richards • Marion • Lopez • Stanky • Moss • Lopez • Gutteridge • Adair • Tanner • Richards • Lemon • Doby • Kessinger • La Russa • Rader • Fregosi • Torborg • Lamont • Bevington • Manuel • Guillén
v • d • e
Detroit Tigers Starting Second Basemen

Kid Gleason (1901–02) • Heinie Smith (1903) • Bobby Lowe (1904) • Germany Schaefer (1905–06, 1909) • Red Downs (1908) • Jim Delahanty (1910) • Charley O'Leary (1911) • Baldy Louden (1912) • Ossie Vitt (1913) • Marty Kavanagh (1914) • Ralph Young (1915–21) • George Cutshaw (1922) • Fred Haney (1923) • Del Pratt (1924) • Frank O'Rourke (1925) • Charlie Gehringer (1926–41) • Jimmy Bloodworth (1942–43, 1946) • Eddie Mayo (1944–45, 1947–48) • Neil Berry (1949) • Jerry Priddy (1950–52) • Johnny Pesky (1953) • Frank Bolling (1954, 1956–60) • Fred Hatfield (1955) • Jake Wood (1961–63) • Jerry Lumpe (1964–66) • Dick McAuliffe (1967–73) • Gary Sutherland (1974–75) • Pedro García (1976) • Tito Fuentes (1977) • Lou Whitaker (1978–95) • Scott Fletcher (1995) • Mark Lewis (1996) • Damion Easley (1997–02) • Warren Morris (2003) • Omar Infante (2004) • Plácido Polanco (2005–present)