Emil Michael Gross (March 3, 1858 – August 21, 1921), was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player whose career spanned from 1877 to 1884. He played five years in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for the

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National Leagu ...

(1879–1881), Philadelphia Quakers (1883), and

Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies The Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies (also known as Chicago/Pittsburgh) were a short-lived professional baseball team in the Union Association of 1884. They were to battle the Chicago White Stockings, of the National League, for the Chicago bas ...

(1884). In 1880, Gross established a new major league record by appearing in 87 games as catcher. During his major league career, he appeared in 248 games and compiled a .295

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 ...

with 67 doubles, 21

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

, seven

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, and 107

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

Early years

Gross was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, in 1858. Gross began his professional baseball career playing for the St. Paul Red Caps of the

League Alliance The League Alliance was the first semi-affiliated minor league baseball league. Proposed by Al Spalding on January 15, 1877. Independent baseball teams were to affiliate with National League teams, which would honor their respective contracts. The ...

in 1877.

Major League Baseball

Providence

In August 1879, Gross made his major league debut with the

1879 Providence Grays The 1879 Providence Grays won the National League title in only their second season in the league. Regular season Season standings Record vs. opponents Roster Player stats Batting Starters by position ''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games ...

, compiled a .348 batting average, and appeared in 30 games as catcher in the last part of the season. The 1879 Providence team won the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

pennant with a 59-25 record and featured Hall of Fame shortstop-manager

George Wright George Wright may refer to: Politics, law and government * George Wright (MP) (died 1557), MP for Bedford and Wallingford * George Wright (governor) (1779–1842), Canadian politician, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island * George Wright ...

and Hall of Fame pitcher

Monte Ward John Montgomery Ward (March 3, 1860 – March 4, 1925), known as Monte Ward, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, shortstop, second baseman, third baseman, manager, executive, union organizer, owner and author. Ward, of English descent, ...

who won 49 games in 1879. Gross replaced the Gray's number one catcher,

Lew Brown Lew Brown (born Louis Brownstein; December 10, 1893 – February 5, 1958) was a lyricist for popular songs in the United States. During World War I and the Roaring Twenties, he wrote lyrics for several of the top Tin Pan Alley composers, espec ...

, late in the season. In 1880, Gross became the Gray's number one catcher and led the National League's catchers in games played (87), putouts (429), assists (126), errors (86), and passed balls (73). His 87 games as catcher in 1880 established a major league record that stood until 1886 when

Doc Bushong Albert John Bushong (September 15, 1856 – August 19, 1908), known as Doc Bushong, was an American catcher in Major League Baseball. Bushong also made appearances as an umpire and after his retirement from baseball, he practiced as a dentist. So ...

appeared in 106 games as catcher. Gross also had a 3.0

wins above replacement Wins Above Replacement or Wins Above Replacement Player, commonly abbreviated to WAR or WARP, is a non-standardized sabermetric baseball statistic developed to sum up "a player's total contributions to his team". A player's WAR value is claimed to ...

rating for the 1880 season, one of the highest for to a catcher in the 1870s or 1880s. At the time of the 1880 U.S. Census, in June 1880, Gray registered as a boarder at 150 Broad Street in Providence, the same address registered for teammates

Mike McGeary Michael Henry McGeary (November 16, 1850 – October 2, 1933) was an American professional baseball player whose career spanned from 1871 to 1882. He played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, playing principally as an infielder and catche ...

George Bradley George Washington Bradley (July 13, 1852 – October 2, 1931), nicknamed "Grin", was an American professional baseball player who was a pitcher and infielder. He played for multiple teams in the early years of the National League, the oldest lea ...

Jack Farrell John A. "Jack" Farrell (July 5, 1857 – February 9, 1914), also known as "Moose", was an American Major League Baseball player who played mainly second base in his 11 seasons. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Farrell made his major league debut ...

Joe Start Joseph Start (October 14, 1842 – March 27, 1927), nicknamed "Old Reliable", was one of the most durable regulars of baseball's earliest era, and one of the top first basemen of his time. He began his playing career in 1859, before the forma ...

Paul Hines Paul Aloysius Hines (March 1, 1855 – July 10, 1935) was an American center fielder in professional baseball who played in the National Association and Major League Baseball from 1872 to 1891. Born in Virginia, he is credited with winning baseb ...

, and John Peters. Gross returned to Providence in 1881 and was the team's catcher in 50 games. He compiled a .307 batting average and a 1.1 wins above replacement rating. His 37 errors as catcher ranked as the third highest in the National League. At the end of the 1881 season, Gross was placed on the National League's blacklist upon charges of "general dissipation and insubordination."

Philadelphia and after

In 1883, after one year out of baseball, Gross was reinstated from the blacklist and joined the Philadelphia Quakers. He appeared in 55 games as catcher for Philadelphia and compiled a .307 batting average and .489 slugging percentage. However, he led the National League with 74 errors in his 55 games as catcher and also gave up 67

passed ball In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control, and, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a ru ...

s. Gross concluded his major league career in 1884 playing for the

of the Union Association. Gross hit .358 with a .589 slugging percentage in 23 games in the Union Association. He also played during the 1884 season for

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

in the Ohio State League and Oil City in the Iron & Oil Association. When Gross's name was offered as a possible outfielder in 1885, a St. Louis correspondent wrote: "Great Scot! He couldn't judge a flour barrel twenty feet in the air."

Later years

By 1889, Gross was described as "an extensive property owner in Chicago." His mother had recently left him a sum in excess of $100,000. In 1909, Gross was reported to be a businessman in Chicago. Gross died in 1921 at age 63 in

Eagle River, Wisconsin Eagle River is a city in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,398 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Vilas County. Because of the many lakes in the area, the city is a popular vacation and retirement destinatio ...

. He was buried in Chicago at

Graceland Cemetery Graceland Cemetery is a large historic garden cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Ir ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Emil Major League Baseball catchers Providence Grays players Philadelphia Quakers players Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies players 19th-century baseball players 1858 births 1921 deaths St. Paul Red Caps players Springfield, Ohio (minor league baseball) players Oil City (minor league baseball) players Baseball players from Chicago People from Eagle River, Wisconsin Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago)