Gillen was born in 1867 in Pittsburgh. His birth name was Samuel Gilleland. He adopted the name Gillen when he began his baseball career.\n', '

Gillen began playing professional baseball in 1890 with Erie in the New York-Pennsylvania League. From 1891 to 1893, he continued to play in the minor leagues, for teams in Davenport, Iowa, Elmira, New York, Macon, Georgia, and Quincy, Illinois.\n', '

In 1893, he compiled a .343 batting average in 321 at bats for Macon. His strong performance in Macon drew the attention of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He made his major league debut in August 1893, appearing in three games with the Pirates. He had no hits in three at bats.\n', '

Return to Sam Gillen Autograph Profile