About Sam Gillen
Lived 1867 – 1905 (aged 37). Sam Gillen was an American baseball player.
Samuel Gillen (November 4, 1867 – May 13, 1905) is an American former professional baseball infielder who played shortstop in the major leagues for the 1893 Pittsburgh Pirates and 1897 Philadelphia Phillies.
Early years Gillen was born in 1867 in Pittsburgh. From 1891 to 1893, he continued to play in the minor leagues, for the Davenport Pilgrims and teams in Elmira, New York, Macon, Georgia, and Quincy, Illinois.
Gillen returned to the minor leagues, playing for the Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons in 1894 and the Detroit Tigers in 1895 and 1896. He had some of his best seasons at Detroit. He had a career-high .344 batting average in 471 at bats for Detroit during the 1895 season. He appeared in 75 games for the 1897 Phillies, 69 of those games as the team's shortstop. He compiled a .259 batting average but also drew 35 bases on balls to boost his on-base percentage to .353.
Gillen concluded his professional baseball career at the end of the 1899 season.
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Sam Gillen's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Sam Gillen?
American baseball player
When was Sam Gillen born?
Sam Gillen was born on 14 November 1867 in Pittsburgh.
When did Sam Gillen die?
Sam Gillen died on 13 May 1905 in Pittsburgh.
What was Sam Gillen's occupation?
Sam Gillen was a baseball player.
What nationality was Sam Gillen?
Sam Gillen was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Sam Gillen. https://biography.guide/sam-gillen/
MLA: "Sam Gillen." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/sam-gillen/.
Chicago: "Sam Gillen." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/sam-gillen/.
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