Glen Gorbous

Glen Edward Gorbous

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut April 11, 1955
• Final Game May 5, 1957
• Born July 8, 1930 in Drumheller, AB CAN
• Died June 12, 1990 in Calgary, AB CAN

BR page

Biographical Information

Glen Gorbous was obtained by the Brooklyn Dodgers from the Medford Nuggets of the Far West League before the 1950 season. In 1949 the 18-year-old 6' 2" third baseman had had a very good opening season, hitting .345 and making the All-Star team. In 1950, with the Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings, he hit .314 and then with the Pueblo Dodgers in 1951 he stayed above the .300 mark with a .308 average.

Glen did not perform well in 1952 with the Elmira Pioneers and Pueblo, hitting only .245 in a split season, but he came back in 1953 with Pueblo like a mad bull, leading the Western League in base hits with 204 (including 11 home runs) and hit for a .336 average, making the All-Star team as an outfielder. Glen was with the AA Fort Worth Cats in 1954, having a solid season with 141 base hits (including 16 home runs) and hitting for a .283 batting average. This performance also got him drafted by the Cincinnati Redlegs from the Dodgers in the 1954 Rule V Draft.

Glen hardly got his Redleg uniform on in 8 appearances (6 for 18) in 1955 before he was traded along with Jim Greengrass and Andy Seminick to the Philadelphia Phillies for Smoky Burgess, Steve Ridzik and Stan Palys. Gorbous was with the Phillies for the balance of the year, hitting .237 with 4 homers and 23 RBIs. He made 15 appearances in the majors in 1956 and 3 in 1957, winding up his three-season major league run with a .238 batting average and four home runs in 117 appearances. He finished out the 1957 year with the Omaha Cardinals of the American Association, hitting .243 in 97 appearances as a back-up in the outfield. Glen gave baseball one more shot in 1958 with the Spokane Indians of the Pacific Coast League; he played well and hit .291 with 11 homers.

Glen had ten active pro baseball seasons under his belt after the 1958 year and chose to call it a career. Along with his major league activity he appeared in 1,020 minor league contests, going to bat 3,351 times, notching 997 base hits (including 57 home runs) for a .297 minor league average.

Ironically, but maybe not surprisingly, he retired from the game after undergoing surgery on his ailing throwing arm. Glen is probably best known for having his name entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for throwing a baseball farther than anyone in history. The feat took place on August 1, 1957, while he was playing for the Omaha Cardinals. In an exhibition, he was given a six-step running start and threw the ball 445 feet and 10 inches from the far right field corner of the stadium to the far left field corner. The previous documented record had been held by Don Grate at 445 feet and 1 inch at Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis, MN on August 27, 1956.

An amateur and semi-pro hockey player before his years in baseball, Gorbous, during this era, was one of only four natives of Alberta Canada, to play in the major leagues. Glen was in the retail furniture business prior to his death on June 12, 1990, at age 59 in Calgary, AB.

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Third Edition
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page