page_title: Billy Gilbert (baseball)
section_title: MLB career
hierarchical_section_title: Billy Gilbert (baseball) / Baseball career / MLB career
caption_attribution_description: English: [New York Giants second baseman Billy Gilbert, standing on the field at West Side Grounds]. Chicago Daily News, Inc., photographer. CREATED/PUBLISHED 1905. SUMMARY Portrait of second baseman Billy Gilbert, National League's New York Giants baseball player, standing on the field at West Side Grounds, which was located between West Polk Street, South Wolcott Avenue (formerly Lincoln Street), West Taylor Street, and South Wood Street, in the Near West Side community area of Chicago, Illinois. An unidentified New York player is standing behind him holding a bat. The New York Giants were the 1905 World Series Champions. NOTES This photonegative taken by a Chicago Daily News photographer may have been published in the newspaper. Cite as: SDN-003768, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum. SUBJECTS Gilbert, Billy. New York Giants (Baseball team) National League of Professional Baseball Clubs West Side Grounds (Chicago, Ill.) Baseball players--New York (State)--New York--1900-1909. Near West Side (Chicago, Ill.)--1900-1909. Chicago (Ill.)--1900-1909. Portraits. Dry plate negatives. Gelatin dry plate negatives. United States--Illinois--Cook County--Chicago. MEDIUM 1 negative&#160;: b&amp;w, glass&#160;; 5 x 7 in. REPRODUCTION NUMBER SDN-003768 REPOSITORY Chicago History Museum, 1601 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60614-6038. DIGITAL ID (original negative) ichicdn s003768 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.ndlpcoop/ichicdn.s003768
context_page_description: William Oliver Gilbert was an American professional baseball second baseman who played from the 1890s through 1912. Gilbert played in Major League Baseball from 1901 to 1909, for the Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals.
  Standing at just 5 feet 4 inches, Gilbert was a weak hitter but a good defensive second baseman. He did hit .313 in the 1905 World Series, which the Giants won.
context_section_description: Gilbert made his MLB debut with the Brewers in 1901. After the season, Baltimore Orioles player-manager John McGraw bought his contract from the Brewers prior to the 1902 season.
  McGraw jumped to the New York Giants of the National League during the 1902 season. He signed Gilbert to the Giants for the 1903 season and installed him as the team's starting second baseman. Not a highly regarded hitter, Gilbert contributed with his bat as the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1905 World Series, leading the team in batting average during the series.
  He played with the Giants through the 1906 season. Down the stretch in 1906, McGraw replaced Gilbert with Sammy Strang, who produced better offense. After the season, the Giants tried to assign Gilbert to the Newark Indians of the Class-A Eastern League. Not wanting to play in Newark, Gilbert refused to report. Wanting to stay in the NL, Gilbert attempted to negotiate a contract with the Brooklyn Superbas.
  Unable to sign with Brooklyn, he contemplated signing with an outlaw team. Instead, Gilbert played for the Trenton Tigers of the Class-B Tri-State League in 1907, and coached the Columbia Lions, the college baseball team of Columbia University.
  Gilbert returned to MLB in 1908 with the St. Louis Cardinals. After the Cardinals fired John McCloskey as their manager after the 1908 season, Gilbert was considered for the job. They instead acquired Roger Bresnahan and made him their player-manager. He made his final MLB appearance on June 27, 1909, and served as a Cardinals' scout during the remainder of the season. He was released by Cardinals manager Roger Bresnahan, a former teammate with the Giants, in March 1910.
caption: Gilbert at the West Side Grounds in 1905
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