{{short description|American baseball player (1922-1977)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Jim Gladd |position=Catcher |image= |bats=Right |throws=Right |birth_date={{Birth date|1922|10|2|mf=y}} |birth_place=Fort Gibson, Oklahoma |death_date={{death date and age|1977|11|8|1922|10|2}} |death_place=Long Beach, California |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=September 9 |debutyear={{Baseball year|1946}} |debutteam=New York Giants |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=September 29 |finalyear={{Baseball year|1946}} |finalteam=New York Giants |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Games played |stat1value=4 |stat3label=Batting average |stat3value=.091 |stat2label=Hits |stat2value=1 |teams= *New York Giants ({{Baseball year|1946}}) }} '''James Walter Gladd''' (October 2, 1922 – November 8, 1977) was an American professional baseball catcher who played in four games in the major leagues for the New York Giants in {{baseball year|1946}}. Born in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, he threw and batted right-handed, stood {{convert|6|ft|2|in}} tall and weighed {{convert|190|lb}}.

Gladd entered minor league baseball in 1940. After three seasons, he joined the United States Army for World War II military service. Commissioned a second lieutenant in June 1943, he was assigned to the 33rd Field Artillery Battalion of the First Infantry Division—the "Big Red One"—which saw combat in the North African Campaign, the Invasion of Sicily, and the European Theatre.<ref>[https://www.baseballinwartime.com/player_biographies/gladd_jim.htm Bedingfield, Gary, ''Jim Gladd,''] Baseball in Wartime</ref>

Gladd returned to baseball in 1946, and after 50 games with the Triple-A Jersey City Giants, he was recalled to New York for a September MLB audition. Starting four games between September 9 and 29, he collected his only hit, a single off Dick Koecher of the Philadelphia Phillies, in his fourth and final contest.<ref>Retrosheet [https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1946/B09290NY11946.htm box score (29 September 1946): "New York Giants 3, Philadelphia Phillies 1"]</ref>

Although he never again reached the majors, Gladd continued his active career at the highest levels of the minors, playing eight seasons in the Pacific Coast League. He retired from the game in 1955 and died at age 55 in Long Beach, California, on November 8, 1977.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Baseballstats|br=g/gladdji01|brm=gladd-001jam}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gladd, Jim}} Category:1922 births Category:1977 deaths Category:Baseball players from Oklahoma Category:Fort Smith Giants players Category:Hollywood Stars players Category:Jersey City Giants players Category:Major League Baseball catchers Category:New York Giants (baseball) players Category:People from Fort Gibson, Oklahoma Category:Portland Beavers players Category:Salisbury Giants players Category:San Diego Padres (minor league) players Category:San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Category:United States Army personnel of World War II Category:20th-century American sportsmen

{{US-baseball-catcher-1920s-stub}}