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Walter Henry Schang (August 22, 1889 – March 6, 1965) was an American professional
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
player and
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...
. He played in
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
as a
catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...
from to for the
Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakla ...
,
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
,
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
, St. Louis Browns and the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
. Schang was the starting catcher for six American League pennant winning teams (Philadelphia Athletics (–), Boston Red Sox (), New York Yankees (–), and was considered one of the best major league catchers of his era, performing well both offensively and defensively. He was a switch-hitter who batted above .300 six times during his playing career and posted a career .393
on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
, second only to
Mickey Cochrane Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane (April 6, 1903 – June 28, 1962), nicknamed "Black Mike", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detro ...
among major league catchers. In he became the first Major League Baseball player to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game. Standing 5-foot-10 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds, Schang was one of the new breed of catchers that emerged from the Deadball Era who used speed and agility to field their position. His reputation as a defensive stand out is enhanced because of the era in which he played. In the Deadball Era, catchers played a huge defensive role, given the large number of bunts and
stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe o ...
attempts, as well as the difficulty of handling every type of pitch imaginable, such as shine balls, spitballs, knuckleballs, and emory balls.


Career

Schang was born on August 22, 1889, in
South Wales, New York South Wales is a hamlet in the towns of Aurora and Wales in Erie County, New York, United States. WGRZ's broadcast tower and in-house weather radar are based in the hamlet. The Gow School is located in South Wales. Notable people * Wally Sch ...
, a small town approximately 25 miles southeast of Buffalo where, his parents worked as farmers. In 1912, while he was playing in the sandlots of upstate
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
for the Buffalo Pullmans, he was discovered by
George Stallings George Tweedy Stallings (November 17, 1867 – May 13, 1929) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and Philadelphia Phillies in 1890 and 1897 to 1898 and man ...
, who went on to manage the 1914 Miracle Braves. Schang began his major league career with the Philadelphia Athletics on May 9, 1913 at the age of 23. He played in 79 games and had a slashline of .266/.392/.415 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) while walking 34 times to 44 strikeouts. He also finished eighth in the MVP voting. That year, the Athletics won the American League pennant and played in the
1913 World Series The 1913 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1913 season. The tenth edition of the World Series, it matched the American League (AL) champion Philadelphia Athletics against the National League (NL) New York ...
(the first of six appearances for Schang). In the five game defeat of the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...
, he hit .357 with five hits and seven RBIs in four games played, which included a home run in Game 3 (as it would turn out, this was the only postseason home run he ever hit). He played 107 games the following year and batted .287/.371/.404 with 45 RBIs while reducing his strikeouts to 33 (which nearly matched his walks of 32). For the fourth time in five seasons, the Athletics won the league pennant. They faced the
Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...
, who were managed by Schang's mentor,
George Stallings George Tweedy Stallings (November 17, 1867 – May 13, 1929) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and Philadelphia Phillies in 1890 and 1897 to 1898 and man ...
. The Braves would later be known as the "Miracle Braves" as they conducted a shocking sweep of Philadelphia. In the four-game sweep, he hit .167 with two hits. The next three years for the Athletics and Schang were miserable, since manager/owner Connie Mack sold numerous pieces of his title teams to stay afloat (with the exception of players like Schang). He batted a combined .266/.369/.391 in those seasons with 118 RBIs while receiving more walks (133) than strikeouts (115). He was sold to the Boston Red Sox before the 1918 season. He played in 88 games (of a season shortened to send in September due to
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
) that year. While he batted .244, he maintained a consistent walk rate with 46 to 35 strikeouts while the Red Sox made the 1918 World Series. He played in five of the six games and batted .444 with four hits and an RBI. Schang was the regular catcher for that club, the last Red Sox team to win the title 2004. Soon afterwards, Boston owner
Harry Frazee Harry Herbert Frazee (June 29, 1880 – June 4, 1929) was an American theatrical agent, producer, and director, and owner of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox from 1916 to 1923. He is well known for selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yanke ...
sold
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
to the New York Yankees. He played 113 games in 1919 and batted .306 while reaching base at a .436 clip with 71 walks to 42 strikeouts with 101 hits (the first time he cracked the century mark in that category). In 1920, he hit .305/.413 with 64 walks to 37 strikeouts with another 50 RBI season (51) and 100-hit season (118). Schang followed Ruth in 1921 to the Yankees, becoming the first in the great string of Yankee catchers, including Bill Dickey,
Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but t ...
, Elston Howard and Thurman Munson. Schang served as the Yankees' regular catcher for three straight American League pennants. He played a career high in games played with 134 in 1921, and he batted .316/.428/.453 with a career high 78 walks (to 35 strikeouts) with 53 RBIs and 134 hits (also a career high). The Yankees made it to the
1921 World Series The 1921 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1921 season. The 18th edition of the World Series, it matched the National League champion New York Giants and the American League champion New York Yankees. Th ...
for the first time in history that year, facing the Giants. In eight games, Schang threw out 9 attempted stolen bases and batted .286 with six hits and one RBI (his last), but the Yankees lost the Series. He played 124 games in 1922 with a .319/.405/.412 slashline with 52 RBIs, 130 hits, 53 walks and 36 strikeouts while finishing 13th in MVP voting. In the
1922 World Series The 1922 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1922 season. The 19th edition of the World Series, it matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion New York Yankees. ...
(also against New York), he played five games and batted .188 with three hits in the series loss. He played just 84 games in 1923, batting .276 with 75 hits. In the
1923 World Series The 1923 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1923 season. The 20th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion New York Yankees against the National League champion New York Giants. ...
(another rematch with New York), the Yankees and Schang were victorious at last, and he batted .318 in six games with seven hits. In 1924, he played 114 games while batting .292/.382/.427 with 104 hits and 51 RBIs while finishing 11th in the MVP voting. The following year was his last with New York, and he played just 73 games with a .240/.310/.335 slashline. After the year, he moved to the St. Louis Browns, hitting a career-high .330 in his first season with St. Louis, as the team improved greatly, managing first-division finishes in 1928 and 1929. The following year, Schang returned to Philadelphia as a backup for
Mickey Cochrane Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane (April 6, 1903 – June 28, 1962), nicknamed "Black Mike", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detro ...
. The Athletics of 1930 were coming off a World Championship and repeated that year. It was the fourth title for Schang in his career, which ended the next season with the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
. He finished his career in 1931 at the age of 41, playing thirty games with fourteen hits. In a 19-season career, Schang hit a .284 batting average with 59
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s and 710 RBI in 1,842
games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...
. In 32 World Series games, he hit .287 (27-for-94) with one home run and eight RBI's. When Schang was not catching, his managers usually played him in
center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ce ...
,
right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...
, or at
third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
, in order to keep his bat in the lineup. Schang's defensive work was also regarded as outstanding, although he holds the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...
career record for most
errors An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...
by a catcher, with 223.


After baseball

Following his major league career, Schang played for several seasons with Western Association and Canadian clubs, and then turned to managing in
minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in N ...
. In 1945, he retired to a farm he operated at
Dixon, Missouri Dixon is a city in northern Pulaski County, Missouri, United States, with a population of 1,549 at the time of the 2010 census. History Dixon was platted in 1869 at the time a railroad was extended through to the neighborhood and a post office ...
, in the Ozark Mountains. In March, 1965, Schang died in St Louis at age 75.


Legacy

In an nineteen-year major league career, Schang played in 1,842
games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...
, accumulating 1,506
hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...
in 5,307 at bats for a .284 career batting average along with 59 home runs, 705 runs batted in and an
on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
of .393. He hit above .300 in six times during his career and appeared in at least 100 games in 10 seasons while being considered one of the premier catchers of the deadball era. In his book, '' The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract'', baseball historian
Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. ...
ranked Schang 20th all-time among major league catchers. However, he fell short in the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot five times by the BBWAA voting (1948, 1950, 1956, 1958, 1960), receiving a peak of 4.1%. 1916 saw him have both a 20-game hitting streak and the first occasion of a player hitting home runs from both sides of the plate in the same game (September 9, 1916) Schang holds an American League game-record for catchers throwing out six potential base stealers (May 12, 1915) along with the league record for catchers with eight assists in a game (May 12, 1920). He caught pitches from numerous leading pitchers of the league in the first two decades of the 20th century, which included future Hall of Famers
Chief Bender Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (May 5, 1884There is uncertainty about Bender's birth-date. He was voted the SABR "Centennial Celebrity" of 1983, as the best baseball player or figure born in 1883. However, the SABR ''Baseball Research Journal'' fo ...
, Lefty Grove,
Waite Hoyt Waite Charles Hoyt (September 9, 1899 – August 25, 1984) was an American right-handed professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for seven different teams during 1918–1938. He was one of the dominant pitchers of the ...
,
Herb Pennock Herbert Jefferis Pennock (February 10, 1894 – January 30, 1948) was an American professional baseball pitcher and front-office executive. He played in Major League Baseball from 1912 through 1933, and is best known for his time spent with t ...
,
Eddie Plank Edward Stewart Plank (August 31, 1875 – February 24, 1926), nicknamed "Gettysburg Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Plank played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901 through 1914, ...
and
Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
. Nearly a century after he retired, he still ranks highly among the all-time list of most career stolen bases at his position with 121 (eighth all-time), behind
Roger Bresnahan Roger Philip Bresnahan (June 11, 1879 – December 4, 1944), nicknamed "The Duke of Tralee", was an American player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, Bresnahan competed in MLB for the Washington Senators (1897), Chicago ...
(212),
Ray Schalk Raymond William Schalk (August 12, 1892 – May 19, 1970) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and scout. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox for the majority of his career. Known f ...
(177), Jason Kendall (148), Red Dooin (133),
Carlton Fisk Carlton Ernest Fisk (born December 26, 1947), nicknamed "Pudge" and "The Commander", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1969 to 1993 for the Boston Red Sox (1969, 1971–1980) a ...
(128), Iván Rodríguez (127), and Johnny Kling (123).


Trivia

* In the early 20th century, when players with facial hair became a rarity in baseball, Wally Schang became the last major leaguer to sport a
moustache A moustache (; en-US, mustache, ) is a strip of facial hair grown above the upper lip. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history. Etymology The word "moustache" is French, and is derived from the Italian ''mustaccio'' ...
, in 1914. After that, is reported that the first players to sport moustaches during the regular season were Dick Allen ( St. Louis Cardinals) and
Felipe Alou Felipe Rojas Alou (born May 12, 1935) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, first baseman, and manager. He managed the Montreal Expos (1992–2001) and the San Francisco Giants (2003–2006). The first Dominican to play regularly in th ...
(
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...
), both in 1970.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schang, Wally 1889 births 1965 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada Boston Red Sox players Detroit Tigers players New York Yankees players Philadelphia Athletics players St. Louis Browns players Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from New York (state) Cleveland Indians coaches Minor league baseball managers Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Shreveport Sports players Tyler Sports players Joplin Miners players Muskogee Tigers players Ottawa Senators (baseball) players Trois-Rivières Renards players Owensboro Oilers players Augusta Tigers players Utica Braves players Marion Cardinals players