Bill Gleason (gleasbi01)

William G. Gleason
(Will)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 170 lb.

• Debut May 2, 1882
• Final Game June 18, 1889
• Born November 12, 1858 in St. Louis, MO USA
• Died July 21, 1932 in St. Louis, MO USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Bill Gleason played his entire major league career in the American Association, and played almost all his games at shortstop. He was a regular on the famous St. Louis Browns teams that won the pennant from 1885 to 1887 under owner Chris Von der Ahe. He was, however, traded after the 1887 season.

It is said that Gleason and Charlie Comiskey would sometimes go out to coach at first and third base, before the days of coaching boxes, and would come very close to the opposing team's catcher and razz him. That led to the development of chalk-lined coaching boxes.

His best year with the bat may have been his first, in 1882, when he hit .288. His team hit .231, and Gleason was the regular with the highest batting average. His brother Jack Gleason was the regular third baseman on the same team.

There have been several other major leaguers named Bill, Billy, or William Gleason, including Kid Gleason, whose given name was William J. Gleason. In 1888, Kid Gleason played for the National League team in Philadelphia, PA while Bill Gleason played for the American Association team in the same city.

Gleason umpired two major league games, one in the NL in 1877 and the other in the AA in 1891.

Related Sites

• Bill Gleason at the SABR Bio Project
• Baseball History Daily article on Bill Gleason