Buddy Gilbert

Buddy Gilbert is rarely, if ever, mentioned among baseball’s greatest hitters. Yet he holds a claim to baseball fame: His 10 percent ratio of home runs to at-bats is technically the highest in major league history (given a cutoff of 20 at-bats). The outfielder played in just seven big league games with the Cincinnati Reds in 1959—but hit two homers in 20 at-bats. Although that rate surpassed the game’s greatest, conflict with the front office kept Gilbert from a longer career at the top level.

In 1976, Gilbert reflected on his hitting feat with his hometown newspaper, the Knoxville News- Sentinel. The interview revealed that the distinctiveness of this statistic was news to him. It also discussed how he nearly had a third home run in his major league debut. Gilbert told sportswriter Ted Riggs, “Say, that would have given me a 15.0 homer percentage, wouldn’t it? But 10.0 is good enough, I guess, if old Babe is just 8.5.”1

Gilbert’s professional baseball career spanned 1954 through 1961. He earned multiple minor league All-Star selections across the Georgia State League, Pioneer League, South Atlantic League, and Southern Association. During his playing days, Gilbert was known for his rocket arm—once outgunning Roberto Clemente in a throwing contest.2 His warmhearted and well-mannered demeanor on and off the diamond created many friendships, including one with All-Star and free agency pioneer Curt Flood amid the Jim Crow era of pro baseball.

***

Drew Edward Gilbert was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, on July 26, 1935. A newspaper account published at the height of Gilbert’s baseball career reveals his nickname’s origin: “His father liked Edward and his mother liked Drew. They gave him both names and added the ‘Buddy’ as a compromise.”3

Buddy was the third child of Kernie Frank Gilbert and Charlsie Ranny Gilbert (née Ramsey), who married on September 26, 1931. The family is of Dutch and German descent.4 His two siblings, twins Mary Pearl and Earl, preceded him. Kernie Gilbert was an ice man for the North Star Ice & Fuel Company and Charlsie produced clothing in Knoxville’s Standard Knitting Mill.5 Later, Kernie worked as a bus driver for the Tennessee Coach Company (later Continental Trailways).6

Charlsie Gilbert “charged her husband with cruel and inhuman treatment and non-support” in a divorce filing on September 7, 1939. While Kernie Gilbert was an alcoholic, Charlsie, an affectionate woman and devout Christian, served as a role model who taught her children to refrain from using expletives and to treat others equally. Gilbert cited his mother as a strong inspiration who taught him to become a believer in the Bible as a Jehovah’s Witness.

Gilbert attended Knoxville’s Brownlow Grammar School, where his foundation as a baseball fanatic was cemented: “Since I was a young boy in grammar school, we had a softball/baseball field not too far from where we lived, within about a couple, three blocks. So I’d go out and play with the older guys, and I found out I really enjoyed it, so I started playing ball when I was in grammar school.”7 Gilbert continued to play American Legion ball throughout his youth. He was also a batboy at Knoxville’s Caswell Park/Smithson Stadium for over five years.

Childhood, however, included hardship. In 1945, Gilbert’s older brother Earl tragically passed away from illness at age 12.8 Shortly after, at the age of 10, Gilbert himself escaped tragedy when he was struck by a car after running in front of a bus. “The car hit me, came around the bus, knocked me to a telephone pole,” Gilbert remembered. “I said, boy, I’ve been fortunate all my lifetime. I didn’t even have to stay one night in the hospital, and that was it. Just come back home.”9

Gilbert’s true rise to the big leagues began in 1949 as a freshman at Central High School in Knoxville, where a later alumnus—Hall of Famer Todd Helton—also excelled in its baseball program. Gilbert was an outstanding four-sport athlete in high school. He went All-City and All-County as he captained Central’s baseball team, made All-County in football, and was awarded varsity letters in track and basketball. At this time, Gilbert had not yet played in the outfield. “[Somebody] said that the quickest way to get to the major leagues was being a catcher and hitting left-handed. Well, I was a natural left-hand hitter. So I started catching all the way through grammar school, junior high school, and Central High School,” he recalled.10

Though he pitched in just one game for Central High, Gilbert made his appearance significant. In a stunning performance against Knoxville’s Austin-East High School (formerly East High School), he struck out 17 batters—a record that reportedly still stands today, matched only by Helton.11 As Gilbert said in 2015, “Some people suggested that I pitch. I told them I wanted to play everyday and not sit on that bench. And I liked hitting home runs.”12

Gilbert’s switch to the outfield was made in view of his strong arm, which he discovered as a mere 165-pound sophomore at Central High, outthrowing three Central football players from the goal line in a contest.

In 1953, Gilbert graduated from Central High. He went to the University of Tennessee, but for just one quarter. He attended a professional workout with the Knoxville Smokies of the Class B Tri-State League. Manager Dale Alexander and general manager Jack Aragón further convinced him to play the outfield instead of catching.

As Gilbert told it, “After I graduated, the New York Giants came in with the workout. And Willie Mays was there and so forth. Jack Aragón said, ‘Buddy, with the arm you got on you, have you ever thought about playing the outfield? You’re going to get beat up behind home plate over time.’”13 After borrowing a glove and playing in the outfield at that workout, Gilbert preferred to spare his shins and knuckles and made the full conversion.

In 1954, Gilbert was signed by the Cincinnati Reds after a workout at Crosley Field. He was scouted by Hall of Fame manager Bill McKechnie. Gilbert “signed with a $5,000 bonus and knew Ed Bailey, also from Knoxville, who was on the Reds roster.”14 He began his first professional season with the Class D Douglas (Georgia) Trojans the same year at age 18. Gilbert played in 130 games that season, earning a Georgia State League All-Star spot as the leader in hits (173) and total bases (275).

While at the Reds’ minor league training center during spring training, Gilbert witnessed the harsh realities of racism in the South when Black players were segregated. According to Gilbert, “they had the Black guys [stay in] a little motel in downtown Douglas. We got those big barracks out there at the airfield…And I called my mother. I said, ‘Ma, I cannot believe the way they treat the Black guys…She said, ‘Son, that’s just Bible prophecy being fulfilled, the way they treat these people.’ I said, ‘That’s just not right.’”15 Gilbert’s early encounters with segregation off the diamond further shaped his character throughout his time in the Reds’ farm system.

Gilbert was a leader of the 1954 Trojans squad, both athletically and morally. He often stood up for his Black teammates, like shortstop Jack “Bo” Bossard, and helped bring the club to the Georgia State League championship. (The Vidalia Indians defeated Douglas.)

On September 17, 1954, Gilbert married his first wife, Gail Patricia Gilbert (née Moore), a graduate of Knoxville Business School and employee of Joy Manufacturing Company, at Knoxville’s Smithwood Baptist Church.16

In 1955, Gilbert was promoted to the Ogden Reds of the Pioneer League (Class C). There he earned the only All-Star selection for the team, batting .300 with 132 hits, 83 RBIs, and 15 home runs in 123 games. Around this time, Gilbert was established as an accomplished Knoxvillian athlete. A September newspaper article stated that he was “one of the finest all-around athletes ever produced at Central High School.” He was described as a “top major league prospect in the entire league” with “good size, exceptional power” as well as “one of the youngest players in the league.”17

Gilbert’s time with the Savannah (Georgia) Redlegs of the Class A South Atlantic League from 1956 to 1957 featured the development of a highly meaningful friendship with teammate Curt Flood. According to Flood in his 1971 book The Way It Is, “The Georgia city had lately been in a high state of tension about school desegregation and other civil rights…Georgia law forbade Leo] Cárdenas and me to dress with the white players…Some of the players were decent enough to detest the arrangement.”

When talking about the significance of these teammates, one key figure stood out to Flood. “I particularly remember Buddy Gilbert, who used to bring food to me and Leo in the bus, so that we would not have to stand at the back doors of restaurants. I felt sorry for him—he obviously was ashamed of his helplessness. ‘Curt,’ he’d say, ‘I wish it wasn’t like this.’ Sometimes I would try to give it the light touch, but we both knew I did not have my heart in it…Poor Gilbert’s small kindness only accentuated the cruelty of prejudice.”18

Discussing Flood’s mention of him in that book in 2008, Gilbert said, “That broke my heart. That’s the nicest compliment I think I have ever had in my lifetime.”19 Gilbert set himself apart during the Jim Crow era by maintaining close friendships with his Black teammates like Flood, Cárdenas, and Bill Powell. Gilbert often invited them to his Knoxville home for gatherings and ate with them on the team bus.20

Gilbert earned two more All-Star Selections in 1956 and 1957 with Savannah; he also led outfielders in assists with 20 in 1957. In June 1956, Gilbert played a doubleheader at Municipal Stadium in Knoxville against the Smokies, which he called “a dream come true, one of my happiest moments in baseball.”21

Gilbert was still ranked as a top prospect, and Savannah Redlegs business manager Jack Myers discussed the 20-year-old’s potential: “He’s got plenty of determination and hustle to go along with a lot of talent.”22 Gilbert was also named the “Most Popular Player” during his time with Savannah in 1957. Priding himself on Biblical values and respect, Gilbert was ejected just once in his professional career. In the same season, he cursed at an umpire in Savannah for a poor call—he later apologized to the same umpire at the SAL All-Star Game in Jacksonville, Florida.23

The year 1958 proved to be a breakout Tennessee homecoming both off and on the diamond. On January 27, 1958, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Knoxville, Buddy and Gail Gilbert’s first child, Gregory Scott, was born.24 (Gilbert later had two more sons, Gary Drew and Jason.)25 The outfielder was also promoted to the Double-A Nashville Volunteers.

Gilbert was taken under the wing of manager Dick Sisler during his time with the Vols. He said, “Sisler was the best manager I ever played for…a couple of guys that lived in Knoxville used to kid me and say I was his ‘bobo’ in spring training in Brooksville, Florida…Dick Sisler would have me hit and hit and hit.”26

On March 24, 1958, playing with the big club in a major league exhibition game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Gilbert foreshadowed his future call to the majors. A Knoxville News- Sentinel article’s subhead stated “Knoxvillian’s Clutch Blow Brings Margin in 4-3 Nod.” The story beneath read “Gilbert got his payoff blow in the sixth inning as Cincy scored three runs on four of its nine hits.”27

During the 1958 Vols season, Gilbert excelled as Nashville’s center fielder and occasional left fielder. Although he batted just .247, he hit a career high of 27 home runs. As a lefty pull hitter, he was swinging at Sulphur Dell’s unique, short right field that featured a 30-foot high screen. He also led the Southern Association in both bases on balls (118) and strikeouts (128). 

Gilbert went on to play eight winter ball games in Venezuela but stayed just 20 days, suffering a broken finger. A December 1958 News-Sentinel article highlighted Gilbert’s drive to make it to the majors, stating that “this spring will be a different story. Buddy will be trying for a summer job…in Cincinnati.”28

Gilbert returned to Nashville with an even stronger season in 1959, batting .282 with 142 hits, 84 RBIs, and 24 home runs. He helped the Vols finish third in the Southern Association with an 84–64 record. One of the season’s most memorable games came on May 8, 1959. Nashville trailed the rival Memphis Chicks, 7–0, in the bottom of the ninth—but Gilbert led off with a single, sparking a rally in which the Vols got nine consecutive hits and emerged with a remarkable 8–7 victory.29

Gilbert’s two seasons in Nashville proved crucial to his call to the majors. He earned yet another two All-Star selections, bringing his total to six. By September, Cincinnati had called Gilbert up, allowing him to finally live out his childhood dream.

The 24-year-old rookie made his major league debut on September 9, 1959, totaling six at-bats during a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs. He went 0-for-4 in his first game; in the seventh inning, right fielder Irv Noren caught Gilbert’s smash with his back against the wall in right-center, robbing what could have been his first of three homers and denying Gilbert’s chance of increasing his ratio of home runs to at-bats.30 In the second game—a 7–2 victory—he walked and came around to score. The next day, still facing the Cubs, he singled for his first major league hit.

Gilbert had limited action with the Reds that month, getting into just five more games. Although Cincinnati was out of the National League pennant race, manager Fred Hutchinson was still using seasoned veterans like incumbent right fielder Gus Bell over younger players like Gilbert nearing the season’s end. Like many young rookies promoted to the majors in the season’s final month, Gilbert found himself spectating rather than participating. He struggled, collecting just three hits in 20 at-bats, with three walks.

However, two of those three hits were solo home runs. On September 26 and 27, during the final two days of the season at Crosley Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Gilbert displayed a major-league-level glimpse of the power he’d shown in Nashville. First he connected off Jim Umbricht; the next blow came off Dick Hall. Gilbert reminisced about his excitement regarding the first home run: “I was never the type of guy like they do today when they hit a home run and look and look at it go out of the park…I remember Freddie Hutchinson in the dugout saying to me, ‘[Buddy], you ran around those bases so fast the cameras couldn’t keep up with you.’”31

That same Saturday brought another milestone memory: beating the great Roberto Clemente in a “Field Day” throwing contest. Gilbert warmly recalled the achievement:

“Freddie Hutchinson came up to me and said, ‘Now, Buddy, I know you’re a rookie, but there’s money involved in this thing up there, and the guys won’t mind you if you want to enter. They know you’ve got the strongest arm.’  I said, ‘Sure, Skipper.’ I said, ‘I’m not cocky, but I played against him in spring training…down in Tampa, Florida.’  I said, ‘I think I can beat him.’ They put us in right field, hit ground balls to us. We had to scoop up the ball, throw it to second base, next time third base, next time home plate. The criteria was one hop close to the bag, but fortunately I beat them [on] all three bases.”32

Gilbert remembered the kind words Clemente had for him after the contest: “And coming off the field, this is what really got me…He said, ‘Hey, kid, you got a hell of an arm.’ [I was] so excited…but he was so nice to me and so polite.”33

While his late-season time on the Reds’ roster was brief, it represented the culmination of six years of minor league grit and excellence. The experience carried lasting meaning for a player who had steadily climbed up the ladder, highlighting the limited opportunities that young players like Gilbert often received in 1950s pro baseball.

Gilbert never again appeared in the major leagues despite the glimpses of promise he’d shown in 1959. A contract dispute with the Reds’ general manager, Gabe Paul, escalated into a personal conflict and became the primary reason he did not return to the major leagues. Following the season, Paul offered Gilbert a contract that included a $300-per-month raise. Gilbert, who believed he had proven himself enough during the season and deserved better, crossed out the $300 figure and replaced it with $500 before returning the contract. With a wife and children to support on a rookie salary of only $10,000, Gilbert knew he wouldn’t accept Paul’s offer. When a new contract was sent two weeks later with the original amount, Gilbert repeated the change. According to Gilbert, Paul called him and questioned why he altered the contract multiple times. Gilbert argued that he had proven his worth, citing his ability to throw out players from right field using his strong arm, the power potential displayed when he hit 24 home runs in Nashville the year prior, and the value shown by earning six All-Star spots in his minor league career.34

In recalling the exchange, Gilbert emphasized his strong stance on the confrontation, saying he wouldn’t sign the contract: “And I said, ‘You know what? You’ve never had a bad report on me ever…’ He said, ‘You’re just a stubborn kid.’ I said, ‘If that’s the way you feel about me, you can go to hell. I’m going to quit.’”35 Gilbert later admitted that those aggressive words were a mistake; years later, he said, “I was my own worst enemy because I said something I shouldn’t have.”36

Gilbert threatened Paul that he would return to the University of Tennessee instead of continuing to play professionally with the Reds organization. When Triple-A manager Dick Sisler and officials of the Pacific Coast League’s Seattle Rainiers attempted to offer him a $3,000 incentive to report, Paul intervened, warning that an excessive payment could jeopardize both Sisler’s and Gilbert’s jobs. Despite a strong start at spring training in Palm Springs, Gilbert struggled throughout the 1960 season in Seattle, batting .203 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs in 131 games. One homer came off future Hall of Famer Juan Marichal on April 22, 1960, in a 3–2 loss to the Tacoma Giants, briefly spoiling his otherwise strong outing. As Tacoma’s News Tribune reported, “Gilbert led off with a homer in the sixth, and at that point, in consideration of his defensive gem, appeared the hero of a potential Seattle victory.”37

Gilbert cited the season as a highly disappointing point in his professional career. “My heart sank. That’s the first year I’d failed to make the All-Star team.”38

The following season, he started by playing with the Reds’ Triple-A club, which by then was the Indianapolis Indians. After playing in just nine games, he wound up back in Nashville, which had come to be a Minnesota Twins affiliate. (The transaction appears to have been a loan.) He batted .251 with 15 home runs and 77 RBIs in 121 games.

After the 1961 season ended, Gilbert’s contract was purchased by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League;39 The Maple Leafs were then unaffiliated. At that point, however, he decided to quit professional baseball. A March 1962 newspaper account titled “Buddy Gilbert Quits Pro Baseball” highlighted that his future was off the diamond. “Considered a prime professional prospect by Cincinnati three years ago, Gilbert, at 26, is on the voluntary retired list today. ‘I’ve told the Reds I’m giving up the game,’ said Gilbert. ‘I’m learning the mortgage and real estate business. . . and it’s too good an opportunity to keep chasing around the country…If I had signed for what they offered, there’s a chance I’d be in the big leagues today…or if one of the new clubs had drafted me, I might have made it.’”40

Even with an offer from the Kansas City Athletics of the American League after he had quit, Gilbert decided not to pursue professional baseball any longer. “They thought I could be their center fielder,” he said in 2008. “I told my wife my heart was not in it, that baseball was like politics. They didn’t tell me the truth. I didn’t report to camp and told the people with Kansas City I enjoyed the offer, but I wasn’t going to take them up on it.”41

Gilbert’s post-playing career in mortgage banking was shaped by baseball relationships: In 1961, Herschel Lynn Greer, a Tennessee businessman and co-founder of the Guaranty Mortgage Company, helped connect Gilbert with board members including country music star Eddy Arnold. Gilbert ultimately landed a job under Howell Curtis of Curtis Mortgage Company in Knoxville. Over the next two decades, Gilbert rose steadily through the ranks of the mortgage industry, serving as a mortgage loan officer in Knoxville, Kingston, Memphis, Chattanooga, Jackson, and Nashville. At one point, he became the number three executive in the organization, supervising statewide operations and investigating internal financial misconduct.

Later, Gilbert founded Eagle Realty Corporation and became involved in land development, building a second successful career in real estate before eventually retiring. As of 2008, Gilbert described himself as “semi-retired,” playing golf and reflecting on the baseball memories that shaped his life. On July 17 of the same year, Gilbert was inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame.

As of 2026, Gilbert still resided in his hometown of Knoxville. He jokingly commemorated his distinctive record: “I give people like five guesses, [who] won’t know about that. And I say, well, maybe a little something, I don’t gamble, like a little dinner or something like that. So I won a few little dinners off that, you know…Maybe every now and then a beer or two. But that’s long gone.”42

Last revised: April 15, 2026

Acknowledgments 

Special thanks to Buddy Gilbert for generously sharing his time, memories, and personal recollections.  

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Natalie Montanez and fact-checked by Dan Schoenholz.

Photo credit: Buddy Gilbert, Trading Card Database.

Sources

The author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for statistics in addition to utilizing Gilbert’s player file from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s library and archives. All other sources are cited in the Notes.

Notes

1 Ted Riggs, “‘Friendly Persuasion’ Gives A-E a Mainstay,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, August 10, 1976: 11.

2 Mark Burgess, “Major Memories: Big Leagues the Epitome for Former Central Star,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, July 14, 2008: 19; and Jonah Weiss, telephone interview with Drew “Buddy” Gilbert, May 26, 2025.

3 Walter L. Johns, “Buddy Gilbert Making Bid for Lone Open Redleg Picket Post,” Intelligencer Journal, March 25, 1958: 16

4 “Hell, No or Yes, Moot Question in Divorce Case,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, September 7, 1939: 5.

5 “Four Ask Divorces,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, May 10, 1938: 4.

6 Gilbert telephone interview.

7 Gilbert telephone interview.

8 “Earl Gilbert,” Knoxville Journal, August 20, 1945: 12.

9 Gilbert telephone interview.

10 Gilbert telephone interview.

11 Alan Cohen, “Todd Helton,” SABR Biography Project, accessed February 22, 2026.

12 Bill Traughber, “Looking Back: Gilbert Recalls His Years with Vols,” MiLB.com, June 22, 2015, https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-132243672

13 Gilbert telephone interview.

14 Traughber, “Looking Back.”

15 Gilbert telephone interview.

16 “Moore and Gilbert Bridals Held: Newlyweds Take Trip to New York City,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, September 19, 1954: 48.

17 Frank (Red) Bailes, “Pioneer League Managers Pick Gilbert as Sure Major Leaguer,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, September 11, 1955: 31.

18 Curt Flood, The Way It Is (New York: Trident Press, 1971), 43–44.

19 Mark Burgess, “Major Memories: Big Leagues the Epitome for Former Central Star,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, July 14, 2008: 15.

20 Gilbert telephone interview.

21 Bob Wilson, “Sport Talk: Pirates Show True Character? Gilbert Happy to Play Here,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, June 21, 1956: 34.

22 Wilson, “Sport Talk,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, June 21, 1956: 34.

23 Gilbert telephone interview.

24 “Son Is Born to Buddy Gilberts,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, January 27, 1958: 14.

25 “Gail Moore Gilbert,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, August 8, 2007: 12.

26 Traughber, “Looking Back.”

27 “Gilbert Gives Cincy Victory: Knoxvillian’s Clutch Blow Brings Margin in 4-3 Nod; Roy Sievers Still Sidelined,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, March 25, 1958: 12.

28 “Venezuela Stay Short for Gilbert,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, December 21, 1958: 27.

29 Traughber, “Looking Back.”

30 Earl Lawson, “Reds to Bid for Score?”, Cincinnati Post, September 10, 1959: 32.

31 Gilbert telephone interview.

32 Gilbert telephone interview.

33 Gilbert telephone interview.

34 Gilbert telephone interview; and Traughber, “Looking Back.”

35 Gilbert telephone interview.

36 Burgess, “Major Memories.”

37 Ed Honeywell, “Glorious Night, Tacoma Nips Seattle 3-2,” News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), April 23, 1960: 10.

38 Gilbert telephone interview.

39 “Toronto Buys Gilbert,” Nashville Banner, October 17, 1961: 20.

40 “Buddy Gilbert Quits Pro Baseball,” Knoxville News-Sentinel, March 7, 1962: 28.

41 Traughber, “Looking Back.”

42 Gilbert telephone interview.