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
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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