William J. Geiss (July 15, 1858 – September 18, 1924) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player from 1882 to 1894. He played two seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the 1882 Baltimore Orioles, and as a

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

for the 1884 Detroit Wolverines. He appeared in 93 major league games, 73 as a

and 13 as a

. He also played 11 seasons of minor league baseball for at least 17 different minor league clubs from 1883 to 1894.

Early years

Geiss was born in 1858 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois. His parents, John Geis and Mary (Meyer) Geis, were both immigrants from Germany. Geiss's younger brother, Emil Geiss, also played professional baseball.

Professional baseball

Baltimore Orioles

Geiss made his debut in

with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

on July 19, 1882, at age 24. He appeared in 13 games as a pitcher for the Orioles and also appeared in four games as an outfielder. As a pitcher he compiled a 4-9 (.308) record with a 4.80

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 95-2/3 innings pitched.

Detroit Wolverines

After spending the 1883 season with the Fort Wayne Hoosiers in the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for six seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, 1886–1887, and 1891. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by t ...

, Geiss joined the Detroit Wolverines in 1884. He appeared in 75 games for the Wolverines, including 73 games at second base and one games as a pitcher. He compiled a .177

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and struck out 60 times in 284 at bats. In his one game as pitcher, he threw five relief innings and allowed 14 hits, two bases on balls, and 16 runs, eight of them earned, for an ERA of 14.40. His Wins Above Replacement (WAR) rating for the 1884 season was -1.4. Geiss appeared in his last major league game on August 13, 1884.

Minor leagues

Although his major league career ended in 1884, Geiss continued to play in the minor leagues, principally as a second baseman, for another 10 years. A newspaper story in 1891 stated that he had "always been considered a good, reliable player on second." An account published in 1892 in ''Sporting Life'' stated that he "has always ranked very high among the second basemen in whatever league he played", and "is one of the most accurate men on ground balls that ever played second, and he can play equally well at third or short field." Giess appeared in at least 560 minor league games. Although records are incomplete, he stole at least 105 bases, including 36 with New Orleans in 1887. Geiss's minor league career saw him play for at least 17 different teams in 10 years, including stints with

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

(1885),

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(1885),

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

(1886), the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

(1887),

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

(1888),

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

(1888),

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

and

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

(1889),

Ottawa, Illinois Ottawa is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the confluence of the navigable Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River and Illinois River, the latter being a conduit for river barges and ...

(1890–91),

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...

(1891),

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

(1892),

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(1892),

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(1893),

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

(1894), and Savannah Modocs (1894).

Later years

Geiss was married to Anna Geiss and worked as a laborer in his later years. He died in 1924 at age 66 in

. He was buried at St. Boniface Cemetery in that city.Death record for William Geiss, born Chicago, 18 Sep 1924, died Chicago, 22 Sep 1924. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916–1947 atabase on-line Provo, Utah, US: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geiss, Bill 1858 births 1924 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball second basemen 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Baltimore Orioles (AA) players Detroit Wolverines players Fort Wayne Hoosiers players Birmingham (minor league baseball) players Nashville Americans players Omaha Omahogs players Keokuk Hawkeyes players Memphis Reds players Robert E. Lee's players Macon (minor league baseball) players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Charleston Seagulls players Sioux City Corn Huskers players Flint Flyers players Kalamazoo Kazoos players Joliet Giants players Ottawa Modocs players Chattanooga Chatts players Montgomery Lambs players Nashville Tigers players Atlanta Atlantas players Savannah Modocs players Baseball players from Chicago