Dick Young’s lead paragraph in the next morning’s New York Daily News was a gem: “Joe Garagiola didn’t get any sleep last night. He lay awake to make sure his roommate, Tommy Glaviano, wouldn’t take a walk out a window.” The St. Louis Globe-Democrat described the collapse as “one of the goofiest shows” staged by the Cardinals. The Post-Dispatch called it “a cruel body blow."

Tommy was born in Sacramento, CA and served in the US Coast Guard during WWII. He played for the Cardinals and the Phillies between 1949 and 1953. He appeared in 389 big league games, between 1949 and 1953. He was called “a short, stocky throwback to the glamorous Gashouse Gang era” by The Sporting News.

The 26-year-old should have had a bright future, but a shoulder injury suffered as a minor leaguer with Columbus in 1948 resulted in what Bob Broeg of the Post-Dispatch called “a scatter arm” — Glaviano’s 25 errors were second among NL third baseman to the Giants’ Hank Thompson, who committed 26. A reserve from 1951-53, Glaviano hit .183, .241 and .203 before his major league career concluded.

On May 18, 1950, Glaviano made four errors, including three in a row in the ninth inning, in a game against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. The Cardinals, who led 8-0 entering the eighth inning, lost 9-8. The Cardinals committed a total of six errors in the game, but the most costly were Glaviano’s gaffes in the ninth, when the Dodgers scored five times in what the New York Daily News described “as miraculous a finish as this famed Ebbets Field grotto had ever seen.” Despite the above game, "Rabbit" had a very good season for the Cardinals, batting .285 with an OBP of .421 in 410 AB.

Glaviano was with the State Department of Motor Vehicles in Sacramento after retiring.

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, RetroSimba Cardinals History, Redbird Rants, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)