Walter John "Wally" Gilbert (December 19, 1900 – September 7, 1958) was an American athlete who performed in professional baseball, football and basketball.
In addition, he played in the National Football League from 1923 to 1926 for the Duluth Kelleys/Eskimos, as well as for the Buffalo Germans, Denver Tigers and Two Harbors All-Stars basketball squads.
Gilbert played in the backfield with Ernie Nevers and handled punting and forward passing for the Duluth team.
In April 1923, the St. Joseph Gazette introduced Gilbert to its readers as follows:"He is a well-built lad of some six feet and weighs round 180 pounds.
Last reports received from the Saints' training camp at Clarksdale, Miss., are to the effect that Wally has located his batting eye and that he is now smacking the ball regularly and hard.
[12] In 1925, Gilbert's contract was purchased by the New York Yankees as a potential insurance for injury-prone third baseman, Joe Dugan.
[12] In August 1928, Gilbert was traded by the Yankees to the Brooklyn Robins (later renamed the Dodgers) in exchange for Jay Partridge.
The Sporting News reported: "Gilbert's departure via a straight release did not create much excitement here, as the fans hardly expected him to be retained.
[7] In September 1954, Roscoe McGowen in The Sporting News selected Gilbert over Billy Cox and Joe Stripp as the third baseman on his All-Time Dodgers team.
McGowen wrote that, even though Gilbert only hit .300 in one of his years as a Dodger, "[h]e was an aggressive player, what the boys call today one of the 'old pros.
[12] In May 1938, Bruno Haas, owner of the Winnipeg Maroons of the Northern League hired Gilbert to play at third base and manage the team.
While working for U.S. Steel, he managed the Duluth Marine Iron baseball team in the Twin Ports League.