Addie Joss - Early Life

Early Life

He was born in the unincorporated community of Woodland in Dodge County, Wisconsin, where his parents, Jacob (who had emigrated from Switzerland) and Theresa (née Staudenmeyer) worked as farmers. Jacob, who was also a cheesemaker, was involved in local politics. A heavy drinker of alcohol, he died from liver complications in 1890, when Joss was 10 years old. Joss attended elementary school in Juneau and Portage and high school at Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. By age 16 he had finished high school and began teaching himself. He was offered a scholarship to attend St. Mary's College (also known as Sacred Heart College) in Watertown, where he played on the school's baseball team and studied engineering. He also attended the University of Wisconsin (now University of Wisconsin-Madison), where he studied engineering. Officials in Watertown were impressed with the quality of play of St. Mary's and put the team on a semipro circuit. Charles Comiskey's Western League team played the team in an exhibition game, which also allowed Comiskey to scout Joss. By that time, Joss had already employed his unique pitching windup, which involved hiding the ball until the very last moment in his delivery.

Connie Mack also sent a scout to watch Joss and later offered the teenager a job playing on his Albany club in the Western League, which Joss declined. In 1899, Joss began to play for a team in Oshkosh, earning $10 a week ($279 in today's dollars), and after the players' salaries were frozen by team owners, later joined the junior team in Manitowoc as a second baseman. That same year, he moved up to the the senior team in Manitowoc as a pitcher. He was seen by a scout for the Toledo Mud Hens and in 1900 accepted a position with the team for $75 a month ($2,095). While in Ohio he was considered "the best amateur pitcher in the state." He started the Mud Hens' season opener on April 28 and earned the win in the team's 16–8 victory. He won 19 games for the club in 1900.