Grant Gillis (January 24, 1901 – February 4, 1981) was a

utility As a topic of economics, utility is used to model worth or value. Its usage has evolved significantly over time. The term was introduced initially as a measure of pleasure or happiness as part of the theory of utilitarianism by moral philosopher ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played from 1927 through

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

for the Washington Senators (1927–28) and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

(1929). Listed at , 165 lb., Gillis batted and threw right-handed. A native of

Grove Hill, Alabama Grove Hill is a town in Clarke County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 1,818. It is the county seat of Clarke County and home of the Clarke County Museum. History The area that is now Grove Hill was originally inha ...

, he was signed by Washington out of the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

. At Alabama he was the first

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

under

Wallace Wade William Wallace Wade (June 15, 1892 – October 7, 1986) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Alabama fro ...

. In a three-season career, Gillis was a .245 hitter (48-for-196) with 10 RBI and 26 runs in 62 games, including 12 doubles and two triples. He did not hit a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. As an infielder, he made 59 appearances at second base (30),

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

(26) and

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

(3). Gillis died in

Thomasville, Alabama Thomasville is a city in Clarke County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 3,649. Founded as a late 19th-century railroad town, it has transitioned over the course of more than a century into a 21st-century commercial ...

, at age 80.

Trivia

*In a five-for-one trade, Gillis was dealt by the Senators to Boston along with Elliot Bigelow, Milt Gaston,

Hod Lisenbee Horace Milton "Hod" Lisenbee (1898–1987) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, and Cincinnati Reds. Early years Lisenbee ...

and Bobby Reeves, in the transaction that brought

Buddy Myer Charles Solomon "Buddy" Myer (March 16, 1904 – October 31, 1974) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from through . A two-time All-Star, Myer was notable for being the American ...

to Washington on December 15, 1928.

References

External links

* 1901 births 1981 deaths Alabama Crimson Tide football players Baseball players from Alabama Birmingham Barons players Boston Red Sox players Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Columbus Senators players Jersey City Skeeters players Major League Baseball infielders Memphis Chickasaws players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Minor league baseball managers University of Alabama alumni Washington Senators (1901–1960) players People from Grove Hill, Alabama People from Thomasville, Alabama All-Southern college football players {{US-baseball-infielder-stub