Glen Gorbous

From BR Bullpen

Glen Edward Gorbous

Bats Left, Throws Right
Height 6' 2", Weight 175 lb.

Debut April 11, 1955
Final Game May 5, 1957
Born July 8, 1930 in Drumheller, AB CAN
Died June 12, 1990 in Calgary, AB CAN

[edit] Biographical Information

Glen Gorbous was sent from the Medford Nuggets of the Far West League to the Brooklyn Dodgers in an unknown transaction before the 1950 season. In 1949 the 18-year-old 6' 2" third baseman had a very good opening season, hitting .345 and making the All-Star team. In 1950 with the Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings, he hit .314 and then with the Pueblo Dodgers in 1951 he stayed above the .300 mark with a .308.

Glen would not perform well in 1952 with the Elmira Pioneers and the Pueblo Dodgers hitting only .245 in a split season but he came back in '53 with Pueblo like a mad bull, leading the league in base hits with 204 (including 11 home runs) and hit for a .336 average, making the All-Star team as an outfielder. Glen would be with the AA Fort Worth Cats in 1954, having a solid season with 141 base hits (including 16 home runs) and hitting for a .283 batting average. This performance also got him drafted by the Cincinnati Redlegs from the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1954 Rule V Draft.

Glen hardly got his Redleg uniform on in 8 appearances (6 for 18) in '55 until he was traded along with Jim Greengrass and Andy Seminick to the Philadelphia Phillies for Smoky Burgess, Steve Ridzik and Stan Palys. Gorbous would be with the Phillies for the balance of the year. He would make 15 appearances in the majors in 1956 and 3 in '57 and wind up his three season major league run with a .238 batting average and four home runs in 117 appearances. He finished out the '57 year with the Omaha Cardinals of the American Association, hitting .243 in 97 appearances as a back-up in the outfield. Glen gave baseball one more shot in 1958 with the Spokane Indians of the PCL; he played well and hit .291 with 11 homers.

Glen would have ten active pro baseball seasons under his belt after the 1958 year and chose to call it a career. Along with his major league activity he appeared in 1,020 minor league contests, going to bat 3,351 times, notching 997 base hits (including 57 home runs) for a .297 minor league average.

Ironically, but maybe not surprisingly, he retired from the game after undergoing surgery on his ailing throwing arm. Glen is probably best known for having his name entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for throwing a baseball farther than anyone in history.

The feat took place on August 1, 1957, while he was playing for the Omaha Cardinals of the American Association. In an exhibition he was given a six step running start and threw the ball 445 feet and ten inches from the far right field corner of the stadium to the far left hand corner. The previous documented record had been held by Don Grate at 445 feet and one inch at Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis on August 27, 1956.

An amateur and semi-pro hockey player before his years in baseball, Gorbous, during this era, was one of only four natives of Calgary, AB Canada, to play in the major leagues. Glen would be in the retail furniture business prior to his death on June 12, 1990, at age 59 in Calgary, AB.