William Charles Schuster (August 4, 1912 – June 28, 1987) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player who played

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

in the Major Leagues from 1937 to 1945. He would play for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Boston Bees The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). Then in 1966 they were relocated to Atlanta, whe ...

, and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. Schuester attended

Seneca Vocational High School Seneca Vocational High School, also known as Seneca Comprehensive High School and Seneca High School, is a former vocational high school located in Buffalo, New York. It was one of the first vocational schools built in Western New York. The buildi ...

before signing a professional contract in 1934. Schuster scored the winning run in the

' last victory in a

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

game, prior to

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. He was a pinch-runner in the 11th inning of Game 6 at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

in the

1945 World Series The 1945 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1945 season. The 42nd edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Detroit Tigers against the National League champion Chicago Cubs. Th ...

and scored from first base on

Stan Hack Stanley Camfield Hack (December 6, 1909 – December 15, 1979), nicknamed "Smiling Stan", was an American third baseman and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Chicago Cubs and was the Na ...

's walk-off double for an 8-7 Cub win over Detroit. It turned out to be Schuster's last appearance in a Major League game. After retiring as a player, Schuster managed the Vancouver Capilanos of the

Western International League The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942, and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International League ...

in 1950 and 1951, served as a

third base coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

for the

Seattle Rainiers The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 1968. They were prev ...

, worked in the press room of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' and worked at a gas station in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States. History The area was inhabited for around 8,000 years by Native Americans in the United States, ...

before dying of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at age 74. For his long career in the minor leagues, which included 2,168 hits over 16 seasons, Schuster is a member of the

Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame The Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame is an American baseball hall of fame which honors players, managers, and executives of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). It was created by the Helms Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles in 1942 to honor those ind ...

References

External links

* * 1912 births 1987 deaths Major League Baseball shortstops Pittsburgh Pirates players Boston Bees players Chicago Cubs players Baseball players from Buffalo, New York Buffalo Bulls baseball players Albany Senators players Hollywood Stars players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Montreal Royals players Sacramento Solons players Scranton Miners players Seattle Rainiers players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Vancouver Mounties players American expatriate baseball players in Canada 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub