Charles Magnus Gelbert was a professional baseball player.
Background
Gelbert, who was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, attended Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pennsylvania and Lebanon Valley College. He was the son of American football player Charlie Gelbert, a College Football Hall of Fame end for the University of Pennsylvania who later had a brief professional football career with the early athletic clubs.
Career
He played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the Saint Louis Cardinals (1929-1932 and 1935-1936), Cincinnati Reds (1937), Detroit Tigers (1937), Washington Senators (1939-1940) and Boston Red Sox (1940), primarily as a shortstop. Gelbert began his professional career in 1926 with the minor league Syracuse Stars. He was acquired by the Cardinals from the Topeka Jayhawks of the Western Association in 1927, and made his Major League debut less than two years later.
He finished 25th in voting for the 1931 National League Most Valuable Player for playing in 131 games and having 447 at bats, 61 runs, 129 hits, 29 doubles, 5 triples, 1 home run, 62 Reserve Bank of India, 7 stolen bases, 54 walks.289 batting average.365 on-base percentage.383 slugging percentage, 171 total bases and 4 sacrifice hits.
Gelbert"s career was nearly ended when he severely injured his left ankle in a hunting accident, costing him two full seasons. He returned in 1935, but spent the rest of his career as a utility infielder.
In nine seasons, he played in 876 games and had 2,869 at bats, 398 runs, 766 hits, 169 doubles, 43 triples, 17 home runs, 350 Reserve Bank of India, 34 stolen bases, 290 walks.267 batting average.336 on-base percentage.374 slugging percentage, 1,072 total bases and 49 sacrifice hits. After his playing career, Gelbert served as the coach of the Lafayette College baseball team for 21 years, from 1946 to 1966.
He also briefly served as manager of the Hornell Dodgers of the PONY League in 1956.
He died in Easton, Pennsylvania at the age of 60.