Archive | June, 2015

Lost Advertisements: Bill Killifer [sic] for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes

5 Jun

killifersweetcaporal

A 1914 advertisement for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes.  While spelling Killefer‘s name wrong, the ad calls him “(T)he great catcher of the Philadelphia National League Team.”

Killefer says:

“Sweet Caporal cigarettes are satisfying in every way.  Their mild, pure tobacco flavor wins out every time.”

In 1918, Killefer was traded to the Chicago Cubs, along with Grover Cleveland Alexander.  After the Cubs won the National League pennant, The Chicago Daily News reported that Killefer would be getting a bonus beyond his World Series share:

“A bet of a ten-cent cigar against $1000, made as the result of a joke while the Cubs were training at Pasadena, California, last spring has been won by Bill Killefer, it was revealed today.  The loser, William Wrigley, one of the club’s stockholders, wagered the $1000 that the team would not win the National League pennant.  Killefer, who accepted it in jest, had forgotten about the bet until he was reminded of it by Wrigley.”

 

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“Pitcher Geiss No Good”

3 Jun

Emil August Geiss pitched one game in 1887 for Cap Anson’s Chicago White Stockings; it was his only Major League game as a pitcher (he later played two games in the infield).

The Chicago Tribune reported that Geiss was signed by the White Stockings “at a salary of $250 month.”  Geiss had been blacklisted the previous season for failing to report to the St. Paul Freezers in the Northwestern League after signing with that club.  The paper said, “It cost $200 to get him reinstated (The Sporting Life said it was $600).”

Geiss’ performance on May 18 was less than memorable.  He gave up 11 runs, eight earned, and 17 hits in an 11-4 loss to the Washington Senators.

The Chicago Tribune headline the following day summed up Geiss’ performance:

Pitcher Geiss No Good

Emil Geiss

The headline in The Chicago Inter Ocean was no kinder:

Geiss Is No Good.  A New Pitcher Tried by the Chicagos at Washington with Disastrous Results

The paper said Anson, who sat out, “watched the game from the players’ bench, a look of disgust deepening on his face every inning widened, and fairly turned his back on the unfortunate Whites.”

Geiss briefly redeemed himself when filling in for Anson on June 15 against the Indianapolis Hoosiers. The Tribune said:

“Geiss played first base in first-class style. He accepted eleven chances with no errors.At the bat he struck out twice and made one hit.”

Their opinion changed one week later when he played in place of Fred Pfeffer at second and  made three errors on seven total chances and was 0 for 5 at the plate.

The Tribune said:

“If Geiss is capable of no better work that he did yesterday he should not be allowed to again don the uniform of the Chicago nine.  A man who plays as he did is a positive menace to the success of the club.”

At the end of June, Geiss was released and finished the season in the Chicago City League.

An additional note about Geiss, and it’s a confusing note:

The remainder of his career is a bit vague and complicated.  His brother was William Geiss, who had two brief major league stints and a long minor league career during which he sometimes played under the name of Emil Geis (one “s”), further complicated because Emil Geiss’ Cook County, Illinois death certificate lists him as “Emil Geis.”

Emil pitched for the London Tecumsehs in the International League in 1888 and ’89.  He was the subject of a dispute between London and New Orleans in the Southern League over his rights—an arbitrator ruled that Emil was the property of London; at the same time William was with New Orleans, so we know it was Emil with London.

After a seven-year absence from professional ball, Baseball Reference has Emil hitting .402 in 41 games split between Bloomington in the Western Interstate League and Ottumwa in the Eastern Iowa League in 1895.

It seems likely, and contemporary reports indicate that it was actually William, playing under the name Emil Geiss (sometimes Geis) who put up those numbers in 1895–this conclusion is also supported by the fact that Emil, who had joined the Chicago Police Department in 1891 was still a member a force in 1895.

William Geiss

William Geiss

Both brothers died in Chicago, Emil on October 4, 1911, and William on September 18, 1924.  Both are buried at Saint Boniface Cemetery in Chicago.

 

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“Baseball is far behind Golf in its Self-analysis”

1 Jun

During the Chicago Cubs disappointing fifth place finish, with a 67-89 record in 1916, the team hit just .239.

When Manager Joe Tinker was replaced by Fred Mitchell, team owner Charles Weeghman announced that golfer Charles “Chick” Evans, who in 1916 became the first to win the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open in the same year, would be accompanying the team on their spring training trip to Pasadena, California.

Chick Evans

Chick Evans

Weeghman told The Chicago Day Book’s Mark Shields that Evans would teach the hitters “a golf follow through” intended “to increase the batting of the regulars.  Shields said Weeghman “Points to (Frank) Schulte, (Heine) Zimmerman and (Tris) Speaker as strong hitters who use a golf style.”

Weeghman told The Associated Press (AP):

“There is form in the driving of a golf ball, but there is none in driving a baseball.  Applying the form of golf to baseball was responsible for the wonderful driving power of Frank Schulte and Heine Zimmerman.”

The Cubs’ owner allowed that Schulte knew nothing about golf, but said “(H)e unconsciously used the same swing.”

Frank Schulte's swing

Frank Schulte’s swing

Weeghman said the golfer would not be paid for services in order to maintain his amateur standing.

Evans told The Chicago Daily News that “the batsmen don’t have the knowledge of stance, grip and manner of swinging that the more successful golfers possess. “

He told The International News Service that he had considered a career in baseball:

“Chick says that he might have become a baseball player after having pitched a no-hit game for his high school (Evanston Academy).”

Evans claimed “a torn ligament at the shoulder” derailed his plans.

The response to the Cubs’ plan was immediate.

The Daily News said:

“Chick Evans is going to teach the Cubs how to bat, thereby accomplishing something no one else even considered possible.”

Rabbit Maranville told The AP the story was “a funny one,” and that he was sure that the decision to bring in Evans was strictly Weeghman’s, and likely not endorsed by the Cubs’ new manager:

“Doesn’t seem to me as if (Fred) Mitchell is responsible for that stunt.  I guess it’s being wished on him.

“In baseball the batter needs courage.  He does not know when the pitcher is going to slip a notch in his control…Courage is the big asset in batting, and with all the respect in the world to golf, where is there any great courage needed in driving the golf ball?”

While John Brinsley “J.B.”  Sheridan, the sports editor of The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, said ballplayers may derive some benefit from a golfer’s advice:

“Baseball is far behind golf in its self-analysis.  The keen minds of many generations of Scotch students have been devoted to the science of golf.  So far, no keen analytical mind has been given to baseball.  Men who do know the game are usually inarticulate and cannot tell what they know.”

Sheridan outlined how golf in general, and Evans in particular, could help:

“Drawing back the club or the bat slowly is most important.  If the striking implement is drawn back too quickly or with a jerk, the player is thrown off balance and his eye is put out of focus.

“It is notable that the great hitters, Speaker, Joe Jackson, Eddie Collins and others carry their bats well behind them and do not draw back quickly.”

Additionally, Sheridan said other “golf maxims will help” hitters, including:

“Hit off the (front) foot.  Keep your eye on the ball.  Do not hit too hard.  Follow through.”

Weeghman’s plan was finally shelved shortly before the team departed for the West Coast.  The Daily News said the United States Golf Association (USGA) could strip Evans of his amateur standing:

“If Evans uses his ability as a golfer to aid him in attempting to instruct ballplayers how to swing their bats, it appears that he will take a long chance.”

Charles Weeghman

Charles Weeghman

Evans was in California at the same time as the Cubs in March, and although newspapers had announced he would accompany the team “over the Sante Fe” railroad on the trip, it is unclear whether he actually traveled with the team.  The AP said he “stayed far away” from the Cubs’ practices in order to not run afoul of the USGA, but one paragraph in The  Chicago Tribune the day after the club’s first practice in Pasadena was rained out, likely exposed the Cubs’ owner’s real intention for wanting Evans in California:

“(The rain) did not keep Prexy Weeghman from tackling Chick Evans in a golf match.  They had played only twelve of the eighteen holes when the mist became so active it stopped the contest.  At the finish, the score stood $11 to $1 in favor of the national amateur champion.”

The Cubs posted a slightly improved 74-80 record, but once again finished in fifth place.  Whether the lack of instruction from Chick Evans was a factor or not, the team’s batting average was .239; identical to their 1916 average.

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