Kid Gleason: A Baseball Life Beyond the Black Sox

By Dirk Baker

Though he's remembered today primarily as the ill-fated skipper of the Black Sox, William "Kid" Gleason proved successful in just about every role he played over a long major league career. He got his start as a workhorse pitcher, logging more than 1,700 innings over four seasons with Philadelphia and St. Louis. Gleason then made the switch to full-time middle infielder, contributing with his bat to the Baltimore Orioles' back-to-back pennant-winning teams of the mid-1890s before moving on to New York and becoming the Giants' team captain. After a stop in Detroit and a stint as a popular player-coach in his return to Philadelphia, Gleason became a scout, a coach, and, in 1919, manager of a talented Chicago club that swept through the regular season only to throw the World Series. Though the scandal ultimately cost him his post, Gleason returned to baseball as a championship-winning coach for Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's. This detailed biography covers all facets of a career that spanned 43 years.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1476699097
• ISBN13: 9781476699097
• Release Date: March 2027
• Publisher: McFarland & Company
• Length: 323 Pages
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.0" x 10.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up