Gilbert was a three-sport standout during his time at Valpo, serving as team captain for the football, basketball and baseball teams during his senior year of 1921-22. He earned All-American honors on the gridiron as a halfback as a senior.

Following his graduation, Gilbert played professional basketball on a number of touring teams and also spent two seasons with the Duluth Eskimos in the early years of the National Football League, where he was regarded as one of the league’s top punters.

Gilbert’s greatest professional success post-Valpo came on the baseball diamond, however. He played five seasons of Major League Baseball, manning third base for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1928 to 1931 and playing third for the Cincinnati Reds in 1932. A career .269 hitter in his five MLB seasons, he hit .304 with 88 runs scored and 58 RBIs in 1929 and followed by hitting .294 with 92 runs scored and 56 RBIs in 1930. Gilbert was selected by The Sporting News as the third baseman for the all-time Brooklyn Dodgers team when the franchise moved to Los Angeles in 1958.