Len Gilmore
| Len Gilmore | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: November 3, 1917 Fairview Park, Indiana, U.S. | |
| Died: February 18, 2011 (aged 93) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| October 1, 1944, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last appearance | |
| October 1, 1944, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 0–1 |
| Earned run average | 7.88 |
| Strikeouts | 0 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
Leonard Preston Gilmore [Meow] (November 3, 1917 – February 18, 2011) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who appeared in one game for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1944 season. Listed at 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), 175 lb (79 kg), Gilmore batted and threw right-handed.
He was born in Fairview Park, Indiana[1] and graduated from Clinton High School, also in Indiana.[2] His father worked in the mines and his mother was a native of Austria.[3]: 167
After high school, Gilmore played freshman baseball at Indiana State University[2][4] before embarking on an intermittent minor league baseball career. Gilmore expected to be drafted during World War II but was found to be physically unfit for service.[3]: 167 In 1943, he tried out for the Pirates during spring training at their camp in Muncie, Indiana and was signed to a contract. He spent the 1943 and 1944 seasons in the minors with the Albany Senators. He was called up to the majors for the first time after the 1944 Eastern League season ended.[2]
On the last day of the 1944 season, he got the opportunity to start the second game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies at Shibe Park. Gilmore was credited with the loss, as he allowed seven earned runs on 13 hits, without walks or strikeouts in eight innings of work.[5] Following the season, he was traded to the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League for Ken Gables.[4] In Oakland, he was managed by Casey Stengel who he would later describe as the only man he ever hated.[2]
Gilmore also pitched eleven minor league seasons, playing between 1938 and 1952 for nine teams in nine different leagues. He posted a combined 128–94 record and a 3.66 earned run average in 332 pitching appearances.[6]
Gilmore several of the final seasons of his professional career in Oklahoma[6] and eventually made his home in Jones, Oklahoma.[2] Following his baseball career, Gilmore worked for the Oklahoma City Fire Department, retiring as a captain in 1970.[7]
Gilmore married his wife, Virginia, in 1950 and had two daughters with her.[3]: 169 Gilmore died in Oklahoma City on February 18, 2011, at the age of 93.[8] At the time of his death, he was one of the oldest living major leaguers.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Len Gilmore Stats". baseball-reference.com. sports–reference.com. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Cava, Pete (2015). Indiana-Born Major League Baseball Players: A Biographical Dictionary, 1871-2014. McFarland. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7864-9901-4. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ a b c Finoli, David (2015). "Leonard Gilmore". In Mark Z. Aaaron (ed.). Who's on First: Replacement Players in World War II. SABR, Inc. ISBN 978-1-933599-90-8. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ a b Fulton, Bob (April 6, 2020). "IUP's Diamonds: Five baseball players made it to majors". The Indiana Gazette. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ "Philadelphia Phillies 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 1 (2)". retrosheet.org. October 1, 1944. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
- ^ a b "Len Gilmore Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ Len Gilmore at the SABR Baseball Biography Project , by David Finoli, Retrieved August 27, 2018.
- ^ "Obituary". legacy.com. February 23, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
External links
[edit]- Career statistics from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
   | This biographical article relating to an American baseball pitcher born in the 1910s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
  | This article related to sports in Oklahoma is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Major League Baseball pitchers
- Pittsburgh Pirates players
- Albany Senators players
- Bisbee Bees players
- IUP Crimson Hawks baseball players
- Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players
- Oakland Oaks (baseball) players
- Oklahoma City Indians players
- Refugio Oilers players
- Seminole Ironmen players
- Shawnee Hawks players
- Tucson Cowboys players
- Baseball players from Indiana
- Baseball players from Oklahoma City
- 1917 births
- 2011 deaths
- 20th-century American firefighters
- American people of Austrian descent
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- American baseball pitcher, 1910s births stubs
- Oklahoma sport stubs