Thomas Jefferson Gulley (December 25, 1899 – November 24, 1966) was a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

and

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

. He was and weighed . He went to

Mississippi College Mississippi College (MC) is a private Baptist university in Clinton, Mississippi. Founded in 1826, MC is the second-oldest Baptist-affiliated college or university in the United States and the oldest college or university in Mississippi. Histor ...

. Gulley played first base for the Little Rock Travelers in the Southern Association for six seasons. He holds the Travelers' highest single-season batting average at .378 in 1925. He made his major league debut with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

on August 24, 1923 and remained with the Indians for the 1924 season. Over those two seasons Gulley played in five games. He did not play in the major leagues in 1925. Gulley joined the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

on April 13, 1926, playing in 12 games. Just over a month after joining the team he played his last major league game on May 22, 1926. He returned to the Travelers in 1927. Gulley became sheriff of Pulaski County, Arkansas, in 1947 and served 12 years. While serving as Pulaski County sheriff, he organized Little Rock's Junior Deputy baseball program in 1947. It was the first youth league organization in the state. His work with the Junior Deputy program was recognized by the community as he was voted first place as the "Little Rockian of the Year" for 1948. Gulley was sheriff during the events of the

Little Rock Nine The Little Rock Nine were a group of nine African American students enrolled in Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Their enrollment was followed by the Little Rock Crisis, in which the students were initially prevented from entering ...

. He was elected Pulaski County Judge in 1966 but died before taking office. On November 25, 1966, Gulley died of accidental drowning after his car rolled down a ramp while crossing a ferry. He was on a deer hunting trip near Saint Charles, Arkansas. Gulley was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

References

External links

1899 births 1966 deaths Mississippi College alumni Cleveland Indians players Chicago White Sox players Accidental deaths in Arkansas Deaths by drowning in the United States Major League Baseball right fielders Baseball players from Wake County, North Carolina People from Garner, North Carolina {{US-baseball-outfielder-1890s-stub