Jake Seymour

During the latter part of the 19th century, the Pittsburgh Alleghenys of the major-league American Association were not averse to auditioning local amateur talent to fill gaps on their roster. Players like Bobby Cargo, Jim Gray, Henry Jones, and Henry Youngman all got their shot at the Big Show straight from the city sandlots. Another player to receive such a tryout was pitcher Jake Seymour. On September 23, 1882, the final date of the playing schedule, Seymour was given a chance to demonstrate his skills during the first game of a doubleheader against the Louisville Eclipse.1 Sadly, his debut appearance in the box ended up being his last. The newcomer was not up to the task and absorbed a 13-3 drubbing at the hands of the visitors. Thereafter, Seymour receded into obscurity, working various jobs in adjoining Allegheny City before succumbing to Bright’s (kidney) disease in August 1897.2 Though reliable information is sparse, a fragmentary portrait of his life follows.

The exact date is unknown, but Jake Seymour was born Jakob Semer in Pittsburgh sometime in 1854.3  His parents, Louis and Anna Mary Semer (née Wattenpool), were Catholic immigrants from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany.4 Louis Semer (1831-1879) is listed as a “day laborer” in the 1860 US Census. In February 1865, he enlisted in the Union Army with the 61st Pennsylvania Infantry Company K5 and served until his discharge some four months later.6 The Semers also had a daughter named Catharine (1859/1860-1933).7

Very little is known about Jake Seymour’s early life outside of his baseball career, including his education, vocational training, and early occupations.8  By 1860, however, it is clear that the family surname had been anglicized to Seymour. In 1880, Jake was living with his wife Mary (née Dooney) and daughters Ann and Isla on Killbuck Street in Allegheny City, but the details of Seymour’s day-to-day life remain undiscovered.

At the end of the 19th century, Pittsburgh and the surrounding area had a thriving baseball scene hosting amateur and semipro teams like the East End Gym Club and the Pittsburgh Collegians, among others.9 Local circuits such as the Tri-State League and the County (Allegheny) League offered the chance for competition as well as a venue for individuals to showcase their skills. Future major-league players, such as those previously mentioned as well as Tun Berger,  Chuck Lauer, and Tom Quinn, all got their start in baseball playing on local neighborhood teams before moving up to the professional ranks.

The precise origins of Seymour’s baseball career are shrouded, but according to an obituary published in the Pittsburg Press, “Semer [i.e., Seymour] was one of the strongest pitchers some 10 to 15 years back. He pitched for various top-notch local teams back in the old days but did his best work for the Bon-Tons.”10 This is all the information that is currently available concerning his early baseball exploits.11 How Seymour threw or batted remains a mystery, and no physical description, photographic image, or other likeness of him are known to exist.

On September 23, 1882, the Alleghenys were slated to close the season with home games against the Louisville Eclipse at the first incarnation of Exposition Park. For the opener of the doubleheader, the Alleghenys decided to try out local pitching prospect Seymour. Opposing the novice before an audience of 300 was budding Louisville hurling ace Guy Hecker.12

Undoubtedly nervous, Seymour threw three wild pitches and surrendered three runs in the first inning. But he gave up only one base hit and was hurt by an infield error.13 Thereafter, “he was tolerably effective” over the next several innings but remained wild.14 Meanwhile, Seymour did his own cause little good, going 0-for-4 with the bat against the formidable Hecker, and making an error in the field. Jake managed to labor through an eight-inning, complete-game 13-3 setback, and his pitching line was not pretty: 16 hits, two strikeouts, two walks, and five wild pitches produced a 7.88 ERA (six of Louisville’s runs were unearned).

Despite the numbers, one hometown review was forgiving. The Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette stated, “An Allegheny amateur named Seymour pitched for the local club and did fairly well.”15 Other commentators were more critical. In the opinion of baseball historian David Nemec, “A local amateur, Jake Seymour blew any chance of having an ML future by throwing five wild pitches in conjunction with allowing 16 hits.”16 The performance review of the Pittsburgh Daily Post  was similarly terse and dismissive, observing, “Seymour, an amateur, pitched for the home club and was freely batted.”17

Following his lone major-league appearance, Seymour withdrew from the public spotlight. But traces of his subsequent connection to the game can be gleaned from newsprint. His Pittsburg Press obituary reveals that “the [Louisville] game was played in the morning and in the afternoon Semer [Seymour] went to Sewickley and pitched a game for the team of that place.”18 The final discovered contemporary mention of Seymour and baseball comes from an article published in the Pittsburg Press which claimed that Seymour pitched two games for a team called the George Schads in 1888 — though no record of such games has been located.19

Information concerning Seymour’s post-baseball life is also scanty. There are brief mentions in local newspapers wherein he is listed as a sub for the Allegheny police in May 1890 and of his involvement with #1 Engine Company in Allegheny City in 1895.20 Nemec and other sources state that he worked as a full-time police officer,21 and his Pittsburg Press obituary relates that he was one of the best-known bartenders in Allegheny.22  In addition, Seymour had a third daughter, Catharine (1893-1972). He passed away from kidney disease on August 1, 1897.23 Jake Seymour’s final resting place is an unmarked grave next to those of his parents and sister in St. Mary’s Cemetery off Mount Troy Road just north of Pittsburgh.24

Acknowledgments

This story was reviewed by Bill Lamb and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Mark Miller.

Sources

In addition to the sources shown in the notes, the author used Baseball-Reference.com and the following:

Ancestry.com

Findagrave.com

Nemec, David, The Rank and File of 19th Century Major League Baseball: Biographies of 1,084 Players, Owners, Managers and Umpires. (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2012).

Newspapers.com

US Census Bureau, 1870 and 1880 US Census

Notes

1 “The Alleghenys Win and Lose a Game on Saturday,” Pittsburgh Daily Post, September 25, 1882: 4.

2 Once an independent city, Allegheny City was annexed to Pittsburgh in 1907. Allegheny City Society: accessed: October 27, 2025. “Pitcher Jake Semer Dead,” Pittsburg Post, August 2, 1897: 6.  

3 Jakob Semer – Find A Grave Memorial. The 1880 U.S Census gives his birth year about 1855. His first name is sometimes spelled as Jacob or Jakob, while the 1860 U.S. Census listed him as Joel. His last name is misspelled Seimmer in the 1870 census and as Seymore in the 1880. Semer was confirmed as the correct surname in an email interview with Kate Maloney Williams, the great-great-granddaughter of Jake Seymour, on September 9, 2023.  

4 1860 U.S. Census.

5 1860 U.S. Census. Louis Seymour, 1890 Veterans Schedules of the U.S. Federal Census – Ancestry.com, accessed: October 27, 2025.

6 Same as above. Louis Sermer, Pennsylvania, U.S., Veterans Burial Cards, 1777-2012 – Ancestry.com, accessed: October 27, 2025. Louis Sermer – Find A Grave.

7 Same as above.

8  There are various entries for “Jacob Seymour” in the historical record. However, it is uncertain if any of them are our subject or if there was more than one “Jacob Seymour” living in the same city at the time.

9 Vincent T. Ciaramella, “Bobby Cargo,” SABR Biography Project, accessed October 27, 2025.

10 “Pitcher Jake Semer Dead,” Pittsburg Post, August 2, 1897: 6.  

11 In an article published in the Baseball Research Journal, Vol. 14 (1985), author Al Kermisch states that players named Thomas Seymour and Jake Seymour became intertwined in the Baseball Encyclopedia, mixing up their information. Thomas Seymour froze to death in the mountains near Cascade, Idaho, sometime in January/February 1916.

12 “The Agony Over,” Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, September 25, 1882: 4.

13 “Broke Even,” Louisville Courier-Journal, September 24, 1882: 2.

14 Same as above.

15 “The Agony Over,” above.

16 David Nemec, The Rank and File of 19th Century Major League Baseball: Biographies of 1,084 Players, Owners, Managers and Umpires. (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2012), 74.

17 “The Alleghenys Win and Lose a Game on Saturday,” Pittsburgh Daily Post, September 25, 1882: 4

18 “Pitcher Jake Semer Dead,” Pittsburg Post, August 2, 1897: 6. Sewickley is a borough in Allegheny County, 12 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

19 “His Name Is Seymour,” Pittsburgh Press, May 18, 1889: 1.

20 “Wyman’s Little List,” Pittsburg Dispatch, May 2, 1890: 9; “Director Murphy Makes Numerous Changes Among the Police,” Pittsburg Press, May 8, 1895: 6. “Sub” may be short for “substitute” but the article isn’t clear on its meaning.

21 Nemec, 74; “His Name Is Seymour,” above.

22 “Pitcher Jake Semer Dead,” above. It is unclear if Allegheny City or Allegheny County is meant.

23 Information about his third daughter Catherine provided in an email interview with Kate Maloney Williams, September 9, 2023.  

24 Jakob Semer, Find A Grave Memorial. This fact was not confirmed until February 20, 2023, when fellow SABR researcher Dr. Fred Worth uncovered a ledger showing where Seymour was buried. The author then went to the cemetery and confirmed he was buried there.