Goslin, "Goose" (Leon A.)
Baseball
b. Oct. 16, 1900, Salem, NJ
d. May 15, 1971
One of the finest clutch hitters of his era, Goslin hit 7 home runs in his first 16 World Series games, all with the Washington Senators.
A left-handed hitting outfielder who threw right-handed, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Goslin arrived in the major leagues with the Senators at the end of the 1921 season and became a starter the following year, when he hit .324 in 101 games.
Goslin led the league in triples with 18 in 1923 and in RBI with 129 in 1924, batting .344, as the Senators won their first pennant. He had 11 hits, including 3 home runs, in Washington's seven-game World Series victory over the New York Giants.
The Senators won another pennant in 1925, when Goslin hit .334 and had a league-leading 20 triples. He batted .308 with another 3 home runs in the World Series, but Washington lost in seven games to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After hitting .354 and .334 the next two seasons, Goslin was in a close race with Heinie Manush for the league batting lead going into the final game of 1928. He got a hit in his final time at bat to edge Manush, .379 to .378.
Goslin then slipped below .300 for two years and was traded to the St. Louis Browns during the 1930 season. He returned to the Senators for their last pennant in 1933 and hit his 7th and last World Series home run in the second game of a five-game loss to the Giants.
In three seasons with Detroit, Goslin hit over .300 twice, then became a part-time player in 1937. He returned to Washington for one last season in 1938, appearing in only 38 games, then became a minor league manager for several years before leaving baseball.