Silent John Gillespie’s Forgotten Home Run Record
This article was written by Frank J. Williams - Michael J. Bielawa
This article was published in 2001 Baseball Research Journal
Let’s face it, in whatever quarters folks ponder baseball, be it in schoolyards or saloons, certain names come to mind. Babe Ruth. Hank Aaron. Bonds. McGwire. Sosa. Naturally. They are our home run heroes. And we all have our favorite home run memories. From the World Series telekinesis of Fisk willing his long hit fair in ’75 to Gibson’s hobbled jog in ’88, baseball fans worship the home run. l remember dancing around my own living room lace one rainy autumn night, the phone ringing off the hook with delighted friends, when Robin Ventura beat the Braves with his fifteenth-inning grand slam turned single. The home run unites us. The homer, long ball, clinger. It’s Americana. It’s part of our vernacular. When something is tops or best or wonderful we term it a “home run.”
Pitchers, of course, are more noted for giving up long balls than hitting them. Branca, Terry, Stallard, Moore, Williams. They do, though, sometimes tag one deep. Occasionally more than one. Actually, lots of pitchers have belted two home runs in one professional game. Back in 1886 Guy Hecker of the American Association Louisville club hit three, and Jim Tobin of the 1942 Boston Braves did the same — a rare bright spot for that awful team.
But John Gillespie, pitching for the 1923 Eastern League Bridgeport (Connecticut) Americans, slammed four, count ’em, four home runs in one game, a unique pitcher’s accomplishment chat was promptly forgotten — until Bob McConnell came along. McConnell is a founder of SABR and the chair of its Minor League Committee. Some time ago, while he was researching old newspaper accounts for his Minor League Home Run Record Book, he discovered Gillespie’s feat in a Springfield, Massachusetts, newspaper. Surprised, he contacted Bridgeport resident and fellow SABRite, Frank Williams, and asked him to confirm the game in local dailies. John Gillespie’s record began to emerge.
Pitcher John Patrick Gillespie was born on February 25, 1900 in Oakland, California. Nicknamed “Duke” and “Silent John,” he played pro ball for eight years, including one season with the Cincinnati Reds in 1922. Silent John appeared in 31 games that year and finished with a record of 3-3. He batted .133 and hit no home runs. That offensive ineptitude would all change the following season with Bridgeport. On August 9, 1923, against the Ponies at Springfield, Silent John accomplished something no professional pitcher before or since has matched.
Gillespie’s Springfield counterpart was Gary Fortune, an outstanding minor league pitcher having a fine (22-12) season. But the day belonged to Gillespie. Silent John pitched nine innings and went five for five at the place with four home runs, five RBIs, and a single. His fourth round-tripper was a leadoff homer in the top of the tench that broke a 9-9 tie and secured Bridgeport’s victory and his win. George Abrams came on to pitch the bottom of the tenth for the Americans and was credited with the save.
The following day’s Bridgeport Telegram reported, “Johnny Gillespie, burly Bridgeport pitcher, slugged his way into baseball’s hall of fame today at League Park in Springfield. Four times his lusty drives soared over the left field fence for home runs. The Americans hurler made it a perfect day hammering out a single which gave him a total of 17 bases, an Eastern League record. Incidentally, Bridgeport trimmed the Ponies 10 to 9 in a real diamond thriller.”
The Telegram article continued, “There was nothing fluky about Gillespie’s belts. His first, in the third inning, was a high loft which just cleared the fence. His second opened the sixth inning. His third came in the 8th with one runner on base and his fourth was clouted when he appeared at the plate in the tenth, first man up. Each of these was a husky sock and each cleared the barrier by a good margin.”
Seasons came and went. Gillespie tallied a total of six career homers. Eventually he returned to his home state and died in Vallejo, California, just ten days shy of his 54th birthday. The roaring twenties, Ruth’s era, gave way to the Great Depression and then World War II. Then that other human tragedy, television, pretty much tore minor league ball apart. Silent John’s feat faded from baseball’s memory, finally resurrected by good SABR sleuthing. SABR’s Frank Williams, a good hometown boy, states, “Gillespie’s record will probably last forever and it will always remain a Bridgeport record.” Aaron, Ruth, Sosa, Bonds, and McGwire. We all have our favorite home run memories. Now John Gillespie can once again be one of them.