Robert Gleeson

{{Short description|South African cricketer (1872–1919)}}

{{for|the Australian footballer|Bob Gleeson}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox cricketer

| name = Robert Gleeson

| image =

| caption =

| fullname = Robert Anthony Gleeson

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1872|12|10|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1919|9|27|1872|12|10|df=yes}}

| death_place = Port Elizabeth, Cape Province, South Africa

| batting = Right-handed

| bowling = Right-arm medium

| columns = 2

| column1 = Test

| matches1 = 1

| runs1 = 4

| bat avg1 = 4.00

| 100s/50s1 = 0/0

| top score1 = 3

| deliveries1 = –

| wickets1 = –

| bowl avg1 = –

| fivefor1 = –

| tenfor1 = –

| best bowling1 = –

| catches/stumpings1= 2/–

| column2 = First-class

| matches2 = 9

| runs2 = 312

| bat avg2 = 18.35

| 100s/50s2 = 0/2

| top score2 = 71

| deliveries2 = 166

| wickets2 = 7

| bowl avg2 = 9.85

| fivefor2 = 0

| tenfor2 = 0

| best bowling2 = 4/9

| catches/stumpings2= 6/–

| international = true

| country = South Africa

| testdebutagainst = England

| testdebutdate = 13 February

| testdebutyear = 1896

| onetest = true

| source = https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/188/188.html CricketArchive

| date = 13 November

| year = 2022

}}

Robert Anthony Gleeson (10 December 1872 – 27 September 1919){{cite web |title=Robert Anthony Gleeson |url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/140992206/robert-anthony-gleeson |website=Find-a-Grave |access-date=1 July 2023}} was a South African cricketer who played one Test match in 1896.

A useful batsman and a medium-pace bowler, Robert Gleeson's first-class career spanned the years 1894 to 1904, interrupted by a break of six years between 1897 and 1903. Playing for Eastern Province, he was more effective in the first half of his career, hitting up scores of, amongst others, 67 against Transvaal at Cape Town in March 1894{{cite web |title=Transvaal v Eastern Province 1893-94 |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/4/4083.html |website=CricketArchive |access-date=1 July 2023}} and 71 against Natal at Johannesburg in March 1897.{{cite web |title=Eastern Province v Natal 1896-97 |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/4/4715.html |website=CricketArchive |access-date=1 July 2023}} He also recorded his best bowling figures during this period, 4 for 9 against Griqualand West at Cape Town in March 1894.

When Lord Hawke brought an England side to South Africa in 1895–96, Gleeson was selected for the First Test, played at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth. Scoring just 3 in South Africa's first innings and 1 not out in their second, as well as holding two catches, he failed to impress enough to secure a place for the other two matches in the series.{{cite web |title=1st Test, Gqeberha, February 13 - 14, 1896, England tour of South Africa |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/england-tour-of-south-africa-1895-96-61685/south-africa-vs-england-1st-test-62442/full-scorecard |website=Cricinfo |access-date=1 July 2023}}

Gleeson, who worked as a wool buyer, married a widow, Florence Hall, in Port Elizabeth in April 1919.{{cite web |title=Marriage Register |url=https://www.ancestry.com.au/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/7411179/person/392125171401/media/e878c8f8-c0ad-4bb5-8f01-9209f9e186b4 |website=Ancestry.com.au |access-date=1 July 2023}} He died in September that year, aged 46.{{cite web |title=Robert Gleeson |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/0/188/188.html |website=Cricket Archive |access-date=1 July 2023}}