By John Fitzgerald ’03, Sports Information Assistant

For three years during the mid-seventies, Rodney Geier ran over, around, and through Eph opponents while playing tailback. Today he is playing a different kind of offense, trying to run over, around and through the cancers that invade his patients’ bodies. That’s because Rodney Geier is now known as Dr. Geier, radiation oncologist, administering radiation treatments to cancer patients. Dr. Geier is currently the medical director of radiation oncology and an Executive Committee member for the medical staff at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a member of the American College of Oncology and also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at Cincinnati Country Day, his former high school.

Not a bad list of accomplishments for this Williams grad of 1975, especially when realizing that Geier almost never became an Eph!

Rodney Geier '75

Geier attended Harvard University during his freshman year, after which he decided to take a permanent “leave of absence.” “They (Harvard) didn’t want to term it a ‘transfer,’ so they called it a leave of absence,” says Geier. “To this day I guess I could still go back to Harvard and enroll as a student because, technically, I never left!” For Geier, the grass was greener on the other side. “I didn’t leave Harvard because I necessarily disliked it,” Geier said. “Williams was just a better fit for me,” he remembers. “Leaving Harvard wasn’t easy, but I have no regrets.”

What attracted Geier to Williams was a combination of the excellent faculty, the well-rounded students, and the pristine setting. “I was impressed with how the professors were actually teachers. I think those two terms are often confused,” says Geier. “The accessibility to the teachers was amazing. Professors such as Fred Rudolph, Peter Frost, and John Eusden were incredible teachers and continue to be inspirations in my life.”

The well-rounded students also appealed to Geier. He felt that Williams students, like the students at Harvard, were “academically intelligent.” However, Geier was looking for more than that. “I found my classmates at Williams to be some of the most interesting people that I have ever met. They were creative, bright, and active,” commented Geier. “I do not think that I could have found a better environment for myself academically.”

“And, of course, the campus is gorgeous,” continues Geier. “I found Williams to be the quintessential college setting.”

A successful and rewarding football experience was the icing on the cake for Geier. During his playing days, the future doctor felt very fortunate to be surrounded by a who’s who of Williams coaches from the past and present. The head coach was the legendary Bob Odell, a winner of 75 games, including eight outright Little Three titles.

In addition, the defensive backs coach was Dick Farley, the current head coach and all-time winningest football coach at Williams. Farley, now in his 17th season at the helm of the Ephs, has racked up 111 wins going into today’s game with Hamilton. “We had a tremendous coaching staff,” says Geier. “We were well prepared to play every time that we stepped on the field.”

Due to Geier’s transfer status, he was required to play freshmen football during his sophomore year. Not to be forgotten, the head coach of the freshmen team was long-time assistant football coach and former head lacrosse coach Renzie Lamb.

To say that Geier has a few stories about his days playing for Coach Lamb would be an understatement. “I’ve never had more fun playing football than when I played for Renzie Lamb,” recalls Geier. “He was in charge of going over the scouting report, and by the time he was done, most of the team was buckled-over in laughter. He would go over the game plan and the other team’s players, and then he would often break into a scouting report of their girlfriends. He certainly had a way with words. I’ll say that for him.”

Fortunately for the Ephs, they almost always recovered in time to secure victory. Geier lost only two games during his time as an Eph. As a senior co-captain, he led his teammates down to Pratt Field to face archrival Amherst in his final football game. It was a game that Geier still hasn’t forgotten.

“I can still vividly remember pounding them down at Pratt Field,” Geier says with great pleasure. “We never lost to Amherst while I was at Williams, and that is something that I am proud of to this day. Those are some of the proudest moments of my life”

“Playing football at Williams was an incredibly rewarding experience,” remembers Geier. “We had a great group of guys who had fun every time we stepped on the field.”

After his playing days were over, Geier graduated from Williams with a degree in history. However, he spent his first year following graduation in Japan teaching English to Japanese businessmen. “That was a great experience for me,” says Geier. “It really gave me a chance to get out and see the world.”

He went on to attend the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, and for the past 20 years has been playing offense in the real world fighting cancer.

Dr. Geier lives in his hometown of Cincinnati. He and his wife Vallie have three daughters, including Natalie ’05.