Roy William Gleason (born April 9, 1943) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

who appeared in eight

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

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), ...

for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

late in the season. An

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

by trade, he was a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

who threw left-handed. He was listed as tall and . Gleason was born in Melrose Park, Illinois, but grew up in

Garden Grove, California Garden Grove is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, located just southwest of Disneyland (located in Anaheim, CA). The population was 171,949 at the 2020 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, ...

, in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

. He signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in June 1961. In 1963, after spending the minor-league campaign with Class A

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

of the Northwest League, he was recalled by the Dodgers in September when rosters expanded to 40 players. In his eight games, Gleason was used primarily as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

, although he had one official

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

on September 28, 1963. In the eighth inning of a game against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

at Dodger Stadium, pinch hitting for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Phil Ortega, Gleason, batting right-handed, hit a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

down the left-field line against left-hander Dennis Bennett and eventually scored a run. The Dodgers won the

1963 World Series The 1963 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1963 Major League Baseball season, 1963 season. The 60th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American Leagu ...

, earning him a

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

, but that ring was eventually lost during his time in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. In 1967, he was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and later served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

with the 9th Infantry Division (Old Reliables) and earned a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

when he was wounded by enemy forces while on patrol. He achieved the rank of sergeant and was also entitled to wear the

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...

. After his return from Vietnam, he again played in the Dodgers'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

in 1969 and 1970, although his war injuries had impaired his baseball skills, so he never made it back to the major leagues. He became a car salesman, married twice, and had two sons. Roy Gleason remains the only US combat veteran and former Major League Baseball player to receive "Special Congressional Recognition" for being awarded a Purple Heart, a World Series Ring, and holding a "perfect" lifetime Major League batting average. He also remains the only professional baseball player who, after first playing in the major leagues, was drafted into the US Army and sent to the front lines in the Vietnam War.

TV and movie career

Gleason appeared in the TV series '' Branded'', alongside Chuck Connors, and as "Gotham 100" race car driver Grimaldi Smith in the ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' episode "Come Back, Shame" 2, E25, series episode 59 Gleason was considered for the lead role in the film '' Doubles Brigade''.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleason, Roy 1943 births Living people Albuquerque Dodgers players Albuquerque Dukes players Arizona Instructional League Dodgers players Bakersfield Dodgers players Baseball players from Illinois Charros de Jalisco players Los Angeles Dodgers players People from Melrose Park, Illinois Reno Silver Sox players Salem Dodgers players Santa Barbara Dodgers players Tri-City Atoms players United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army soldiers