Milt Gaston

Biography

While pitcher Otto Rettig established the Doherty Silk Sox as a leading semipro team, Nathanial Milton Gaston made them into a great one.

In his four seasons with the Silk Sox, Milt Gaston went 60-25-2, playing the game with a calm ease and never appearing tense on the mound. He also had a solid civil service job as a clerk in New York City and was content to play semipro ball, earning $100 an outing from Doherty. Until he was 27, Gaston turned his back on the major leagues – despite frequent offers from multiple scouts.

When he signed with the New York Yankees in 1924, “the Great Gaston” bypassed the minors and headed straight to the big club. He went 5-3 for the Yankees but was traded to the St. Louis Browns the next season. After going 15-14 for the 1925 Browns, Big Milt spent the rest of his career pitching for mediocre or miserable teams, ending with a career record of 97-164 over 11 big league seasons.

“Naturally I was pleased to go with the Silk Sox. It fulfilled an ambition of mine. They were the best team around here and I felt it was an honor to go with them,” Gaston told the Bergen Evening Record. “The confidence I picked up while pitching against major league teams for the Sox stood me in good stead when I reported to the Yankees …”