Samuel Gillen (November 4, 1867 – May 13, 1905), is a former professional baseball

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. ...

who played

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 ...

in the major leagues for the 1893 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1897 Philadelphia Phillies.

Early years

Gillen was born in 1867 in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. His birth name was Samuel Gilleland. He adopted the name Gillen when he began his baseball career.

Professional baseball career

Gillen began playing professional baseball in 1890 with Erie in the

New York-Pennsylvania League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. From 1891 to 1893, he continued to play in the minor leagues, for teams in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

, and

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

. In 1893, he compiled a .343 batting average in 321 at bats for Macon. His strong performance in Macon drew the attention of the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. He made his major league debut in August 1893, appearing in three games with the Pirates. He had no hits in six at bats. Gillen returned to the minor leagues, playing for the

Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the secon ...

in 1894 and the Detroit Tigers in 1895 and 1896. He had some of his best seasons at Detroit. He had a career-high .344 batting average in 471 at bats for Detroit during the 1895 season. After a strong showing in Detroit, Gillen was drafted by 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 ...

for the 1897 season. As the close of spring training in 1897, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' wrote: "Gillen has demonstrated in many hard and trying plays that he is a natural infielder -- an artist of the first water. He covers his ground, walks and throws almost precisely similar to

Tommy Corcoran Thomas William Corcoran (January 4, 1869 – June 25, 1960) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to for the Pittsburgh Burghers (1890), Philadelphia Athletics (1891), Brooklyn Gro ...

. He shows greater speed in handling hard grounders each game and his throwing improves as well." He appeared in 75 games for the 1897 Phillies, 69 of those games as the team's shortstop. He compiled a .259 batting average but also drew 35 bases on balls to boost his on-base percentage to .353. In July 1897, Gillen was traded by the Phillies to the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

in exchange for

Frank Shugart Frank Harry Shugart (December 10, 1866 – September 9, 1944) was an American professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Pirates, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Browns, Louisville Colonels, Philadelphi ...

. He played for St. Paul in the last part of the 1897 season and throughout the 1898 season. Prior to the 1899 season, Gillen was traded by St. Paul to the Columbus Buckeyes with George Cross for

Dan Lally Daniel J. Lally (August 12, 1867 – April 14, 1936), was a Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the 1891 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1897 St. Louis Browns of the National League. In addition to his two brief appearances in the Majors, he ha ...

. He played for Columbus for part of the 1899 season before being released. He signed in July 1899 with the Fort Wayne Indians. ''The Indianapolis News'' announced his arrival: "Sammy Gillen once touted as the fastest infielder in the Western league, and always, in the old days, a consistent hitter, has gone down the line until he has finally landed in Fort Wayne." Gillen concluded his professional baseball career at the end of the 1899 season. Over the 10-year course of his career, Gillen appeared in at least 755 professional baseball games and totaled at least 513 runs scored, 795 hits, 202 extra base hits, and 105 stolen bases.

Later years

In May 1905, Gillen died suddenly from pneumonia at his parents' home in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He was 37 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillen, Sam 1867 births 1905 deaths Pittsburgh Pirates players Philadelphia Phillies players Major League Baseball shortstops Baseball players from Pennsylvania 19th-century baseball players Davenport Pilgrims players Elmira Gladiators players Quincy Ravens players Macon Central City players Macon Hornets players Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons players Detroit Tigers (Western League) players St. Paul Saints (Western League) players St. Paul Apostles players Columbus Buckeyes (minor league) players Columbus Senators players Grand Rapids Furniture Makers players Fort Wayne Indians players