Gochnaur was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and became a big fan of Germany Smith while Smith played with Altoona Mountain City in 1884.[citation needed]\n', '

Gochnaur began his professional baseball career with the Portsmouth Browns in 1896 as a second baseman. After short stints with the Roanoke Magicians and the Hagerstown Lions, he moved to Brockton, Massachusetts to join the New England League\'s Brockton Shoemakers for the 1897–98 seasons. In 1899, he played for the Paterson Giants of the Atlantic League.\n', '

He relocated to Dayton, Ohio around the turn of the century, and had a career year with the Dayton Veterans in 1900, when he batted .278 with one home run, six triples and 28 doubles. This was also the year when he was moved to shortstop full-time, where he played the rest of his professional career. He put up similar numbers for the Dayton Old Soldiers in 1901, including a career-high 14 triples, before being acquired by the Brooklyn Superbas toward the end of the season.\n', '

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