Charlie Gelbert

For the football player, see Charlie Gelbert (American football).

Charlie Gelbert
Shortstop
Born: January 26, 1906(1906-01-26) Scranton, Pennsylvania
Died: January 13, 1967(1967-01-13) (aged 60) Easton, Pennsylvania
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 16, 1929 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 1940 for the Boston Red Sox
Career statistics
Batting average	.267
Home runs	17
Runs batted in	350
Teams
St. Louis Cardinals (1929–32, 1935–36) Cincinnati Reds (1937) Detroit Tigers (1937) Washington Senators (1939–40) Boston Red Sox (1940)

Charles Magnus Gelbert (January 26, 1906 – January 13, 1967) was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals (1929–32 and 1935–36), Cincinnati Reds (1937), Detroit Tigers (1937), Washington Senators (1939–40) and Boston Red Sox (1940), primarily as a shortstop.

Early career

Gelbert, who was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, attended Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pennsylvania and Lebanon Valley College. He was the son of American football player Charlie Gelbert, a College Hall of Fame end for the University of Pennsylvania who later had a brief professional football career with the early athletic clubs.

Charlie began his professional career in 1926 with the minor league Syracuse Stars. He was acquired by the Cardinals from the Topeka Jayhawks of the Western Association in 1927, and made his major league debut less than two years later.

Major league career

Gelbert was the Cardinals starting shortstop from 1929–32, 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.^[1] He returned in 1935, but spent the rest of his career as a utility infielder.

In nine seasons, he 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 baseball team for 21 years.^[1] He also briefly served as manager of the Hornell Dodgers of the PONY League in 1956. He died in Easton, Pennsylvania at the age of 60.

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} [http://books.google.com/books?id=hymGG28xYcoC&pg=PA188 Cardinals Encyclopedia By Mike Eisenbath, Stan Musial] at Google Books

Sources

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

External links

Biography portal

• Charlie Gelbert at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Gelbert, Charlie
Alternative names
Short description	American baseball player
Date of birth	January 26, 1906
Place of birth	Scranton, Pennsylvania
Date of death	January 13, 1967
Place of death	Easton, Pennsylvania