Don Gile
From BR Bullpen
Donald Loren Gile (Bear)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 6", Weight 220 lb.
- School University of Arizona
- Debut September 25, 1959
- Final Game September 30, 1962
- Born April 19, 1935 in Modesto, CA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Don Gile was signed as an amateur free agent by the Boston Red Sox before the 1955 season. Don would spend his first two years in pro ball with the San Jose Red Sox of the class C California League, hitting .328 in '55 and .265 with 19 home runs in '56. 1957 would find him with the Greensboro Patriots where the tall catcher got into only 51 games but hit .303 along with 11 homers.
Don blossomed out a bit in 1958 with the Allentown Red Sox of the class A Eastern League hitting .274 along with 23 home runs and catching for the All-Star team. This performance opened up Gile's (pronounced Gee-Lee) first of four shots at the major leagues where he would have trials at first base and behind the plate for the Boston Red Sox.
One of the tallest catchers in big league history at 6'7", he hit just .150 in 58 games from 1959 to 1962, and saw most of his playing time in the late 1950's and early 60's with the AAA Minneapolis Millers and the Seattle Rainiers. On September 30, 1962, two years and two days after Ted Williams homered in his final major league at bat, Don hit the third and last home run of his Red Sox career in what turned out to be his last plate appearance in the majors. His best season would be in 1961 when he hit .278.
Don would play nine years in pro ball and closed out his career in 1963 with the PCL Seattle and Tacoma clubs. While in the minors he would appear in 657 games, pick up 2,363 at bats with 656 base hits (including 115 home runs) for a .277 batting average and a .469 slug.
Gile, who attended the University of Arizona, has been a national sales manager for Oral-B Laboratories, and resides in Redwood City, CA.
[edit] Sources
Baseball-Reference.com
Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Third Edition
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page
