Charles W. Geiss '93 graduated from BW in 1993 and was inducted into the Alumni Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2005.
Geiss was a four-year letterman for the Yellow Jacket football team. He was the first Baldwin-Wallace College freshman to be named as an All-American, an honor he received twice. He was tabbed as a Division III All-American by the Football Gazette in 1989 as a return specialist and in 1990 as a running back. An injured knee cost Geiss most of his junior season of 1991 and a good part of his senior year of 1992. During his four years in the Brown & Gold, Geiss helped B-W to compile an impressive 30-9-2 record with one Ohio Athletic Conference title and one NCAA Div. III Playoff berth.
Geiss came to B-W from Columbiana.
As a freshman in 1989-90, Geiss was the top Yellow Jacket kick and punt return specialist and was a backup running back as B-W finished 5-4-1 overall. B-W won its final four games, including a 25-19 victory against OAC and Cleveland cross-town rival John Carroll University to preserve its then seasonal winning streak at 23 years.
Geiss still holds the Finnie Stadium records for kickoff return yardage (126 versus JCU in 1989), punt returns in a game (seven versus JCU in 1989) and career (65 from 1989-92) and punt return yardage (121 versus JCU in 1989). He led the OAC and was sixth in all of Division III in kickoff returns as a freshman in 1989 with 16 returns for 443 yards and a 27.7-yard average per return.
He had his most productive and healthy season as a sophomore when he led B-W to a 7-2-1 record. He ran for a career-high 873 yards and nine TD, caught 32 passes for 305 yards and returned a then school-record 29 punts for an 11.6-yard average.
A captain of the 1992 Yellow Jackets, Geiss was named as B-W’s Ray E. Watts Most Valuable Offensive Player in 1990. An outstanding student, he was a first-team Academic All-OAC player in 1990 and was a member of the Dean’s List, Alpha Lambda and Dayton C. Miller honoraries and a recipient of the Lee Tressel Scholar Athlete Award.
Geiss is currently a securities trader for McDonald and Company Investments in Cleveland During the summer months, he is a t-ball coach for his daughter’s team.