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Jim Gleeson

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Jim Gleeson
Outfielder
Born: (1912-03-05)March 5, 1912
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Died: May 1, 1996(1996-05-01) (aged 84)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Batted: Switch
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 25, 1936, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
May 5, 1942, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
Batting average.263
Home runs16
Runs batted in154
Teams

James Joseph Gleeson (March 5, 1912 – May 1, 1996) was an American outfielder, scout and coach in Major League Baseball. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, and a 1927 Rockhurst High School graduate, he attended Rockhurst University. As a player, he was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed, stood 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) (185 cm) tall and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg).

Gleeson played all or parts of five seasons (1936; 1939–42) in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. In his best season, for the 1940 Cubs, Gleeson appeared in 129 games, batted 485 times and made 152 hits, including 39 doubles, 11 triples, five home runs and 61 runs batted in; he batted .313 that season. Overall, Gleeson appeared in 392 Major-League games, batting .263 with 16 home runs and 154 RBI. Defensively, he posted a .972 fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions.

He remained in the game after his playing career ended as a minor league manager, and Major League scout and coach. Although he worked for a time for his "hometown" Kansas City Athletics as a scout and Major League coach (1957), he spent much of his career in the New York Yankees' organization, serving as the first-base coach on Yogi Berra's staff during the Yanks' 1964 pennant-winning season.

He died in Kansas City at the age of 84.

[edit]
Preceded by New York Yankees first-base coach
1964
Succeeded by