One early spring day in 1949, Germain G. Glidden sent a sealed envelope to his brother, Nathaniel F. Glidden, with the following note: "Enclosed in the sealed envelope is a list of ten major league batters whose sum total average will bat higher than any ten you can name by the deadline of May 9. Also enclosed is a ten spot. If you like the idea, pick your ten tigers and then at the end of the season we'll see who won." His brother "Nat" liked the idea so much that he told Dick Mullowney about it, and by the May 9th deadline four others joined the fray, and the Three Hundred Club was born!

The following year, an eleven-inch sterling Tiffany bowl was presented to the winner, engraved with his name and average. Renamed the Germain G. Glidden Bowl in honor of our Founder at his passing in 1999, the Bowl has been engraved with the name and average of every winner every year since 1951. Each year, at the annual banquet, the winner is presented with the bowl for the following off-season, along with a similarly engraved pewter replica he gets to keep.

In the Club's history, there have been 4 two-time winners: Tad Jones, Jr., won back to back in 1953 and 1954, Jim Rohde won in 1969 and 2000, Travis B. Nutting won in 1993 and again in 2001, and Jim Klein won in 1985 and 2003.  In fact, Jim and his dad Phil, an original Member, are the only father-son combo ever to win the prize!  Tad Jones, after winning $700.00 in 1953, suggested that first prize thereafter be limited to $500.00 so that more Three Hundred Club members could win cash prizes down the line. Thus, when he won $500.00 in 1954 he philosophized, "Guess I should have kept my big mouth shut!" Today, first prize remains $500.00. We hand out the remaining dues money each year, less expenses, as prizes. Annual dues remain $50, with a one-time initiation fee of $25, due with the Member's ballot of picks on the second Monday in May. You can find more details by visiting our Rules page.

In 1955, we decided that with so many new members, we had to figure 4 decimal places for the overall batting average. In our history, the highest winning average was Joel Crowell of East Dennis, MA, whose team batted .3441 in 1994; the lowest average was "Bunny" Sears of Hamilton, MA, whose team batted .3001 in 1968. (We note that the following season was the year that Major League Baseball lowered the mound). For information on past winners of the Germain G. Glidden Bowl and past years' results, please visit our Hall of Fame page.

The Three Hundred Club today offers five additional contest prizes to our Members: we pick the four pitchers with the most total victories for the season (1957), the four sluggers with the most homers (1967), the hitter with the most RBI's (1982), the runner with the most stolen bases (1994), and the Dimaggio award -- the longest consecutive-game hitting streak of the season (1999).

In 2004, we added a weekly batters prize of $20 for that Member whose picks performed best over the course of the prior week. We also added a weekly "perfect ballot," consisting of those major league players who led, season to date, in each Club Contest. Additionally, we instituted electronic payment along with a simplified electronic ballot.

All current contests will continue as they always have.

As we enter our fifty-seventh season, we welcome all good baseball fans who'd like to try the challenge of picking "ten major league batters whose sum total average will bat higher than any ten [anybody] can name by the deadline." The Three Hundred Club remains, in the words of Germain Glidden, "a non-profit, fun-making organization."

Board of Directors:
John C. Glidden, jr
James L.P. Glidden
Gordon Germain Glidden
Michael Brunson

Germain G. Glidden 1913-1999
Founder/Chairman/CEO