Roland Gladu

Joseph Albert Roland Edouard Gladu

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8½", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut April 18, 1944
• Final Game May 24, 1944
• Born May 10, 1911 in Montreal, QC CAN
• Died July 26, 1994 in Montreal, QC CAN

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Biographical Information

Roland Gladu, a 33-year-old rookie in his only major league season with the 1944 Boston Braves, also hit .372 for the 1944 Hartford Laurels, a team that won 99 games. He was with the Montreal Royals in 1932-1933 and 1945, the Quebec Athletics from 1940-1942, and Sherbrooke from 1949-1951. He was a player-manager for several years. He had an outstanding year for the 1945 Montreal Royals, hitting .338 with 45 doubles, 14 triples and 12 homers, driving in 105 runs.

Starting in semipro ball in 1928 at the age of 17, he played baseball from 1928 to 1951, in semipro ball, independent ball in Quebec, Britain in 1936-1937, the minor leagues in Canada and in the USA, the major leagues in the USA in 1944, and in Mexico in 1946, which put him on the major league black list. He also found time to play winter ball in Cuba. Gladu managed the Sherbrooke Athlétiques from 1948 to 1951. He is the only known major leaguer to have played in Britain in the 20th Century, appearing in the London Major Baseball League.

After his playing days, Gladu was a scout for the Cleveland Indians (1953) and Milwaukee Braves (1954-1964). He is responsible for signing future major league pitchers Claude Raymond, Ron Piché and Georges Maranda.

Gladu was inducted into the British Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011 and in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021, as part of its large class of Canadian baseball pioneers.

Further Reading

• Yves Chartrand: "Roland Gladu", in Gilles Janson, ed.: Dictionnaire des grands oubliés du sport au Québec, 1850-1950, Les éditions du Septentrion, Quebec, QC, 2013, pp. 201-203. ISBN 978-2-89448-725-9

Related Sites

• Roland Gladu at the SABR Bio Project
• Roland Gladu : pionnier oublié du baseball québécois. (Roland Gladu: Forgotten pioneer of Quebec baseball)
• Roland Gladu's time in Canada and England