William H. Geer[1] (died September 30, 1928),[1] was an American Major League Baseball player who played most of his career as a shortstop for five seasons and a total of seven teams. He is most notable for his status as possibly the youngest player in Major League history.
| Billy Geer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: New York | |
| Died: September 30, 1928 Chicago, Illinois | |
Batted: Unknown Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| October 15, 1874, for the New York Mutuals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 10, 1885, for the Louisville Colonels | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .214 |
| Home runs | 0 |
| Runs batted in | 33 |
| Teams | |
Career
editGeer made his professional baseball debut for the New York Mutuals of the National Association. The following season, while playing for the New Haven Elm Citys, he was arrested along with his roommate, Henry Luff, for burglary of several hotel rooms.[2]
Age controversy
editAt age 15 years 63 days, he is credited as the youngest player to ever appear in a Major League Baseball game. There is controversy about his age, or the fact that the National Association has not been officially credited as a "major league". Assuming the veracity of his date of birth, he didn't actually make his Major League debut until the age of 18 years, 3 months, when he played for the Cincinnati Reds of the National League in 1878.
References
edit- ^ a b "Billy Geer's career statistics". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
- ^ Nemec, David; Dave Zeman (2004). The Baseball Rookies Encyclopedia. Brassey's. p. 8. ISBN 1-57488-670-3. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)