We, the Undersigned, Put Forth His Name

Once, Glen Gorbous was included by the Cincinnati Redlegs in a trade to the Phillies for Smoky Burgess, the 29th best ML catcher of all time.

 

Once, in 1957, after his major league career was already over and while playing American Association ball in Omaha, Glen Gorbous threw a baseball 445 feet, 10 inches, which remains a record today.^[1]

Other things that we might assume Glen Gorbous once did: fell in love; put his foot down; raised an ax; felt overwhelmed; drove an automobile; disappointed a teacher; looked in the mirror and said, “I do clean up well, don’t I?” and smiled. And we might wonder now, was his widow, Karen, twenty years his junior, perhaps a native Nebraskan, in attendance when he made his historic toss? Did she fall in love right there and then?

If Glen Gorbous were a man to clutch at fame, he might have held fast to his unique accomplishment, perhaps embarking on a barnstorming tour of distance throwing, taking on local strong men and future Olympians for petty prize purses and hopes of remaining in the female gaze into his twilight.

Instead, he would live out the rest of his life in his native Alberta and resign to a modest, if comely, grave.

What now for Glen Gorbous?

In honor of Glen Gorbous’s humanity, I offer you all this song from fellow Canadian John K. Samson.

[1] Once, yours truly happened upon Glen Gorbous’s name in a footnote while perusing The Physics of Baseball. Even while discussing the very subject that Gorbous is known for more than any other person, Physics author Robert K. Adair relegates our record-holder to a footnote.