John Richard "Ducky" Schofield (January 7, 1935 – July 11, 2022) 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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

who played 19 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He played for the

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

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 ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, and

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

from 1953 to 1971.

Early life

Schofield was born in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

, on January 7, 1935. He was the only child of Florence and John "Ducky" Schofield, who played 11 seasons of minor league baseball and made it to Double-A with Kansas City before going into farming. Schofield attended Springfield High School in his hometown, where he played baseball and led its team to the Illinois Junior American Legion Championship as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

in 1952. He was awarded a basketball scholarship by

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. However, he signed as an amateur free agent with the

in June 1953, becoming the franchise's first

bonus baby The bonus rule was a contractual rule affecting major league baseball intermittently between 1947 and 1964, meant to prevent teams from assigning certain players to farm teams. The rule stipulated that when a major-league team signed a player to ...

Professional career

Schofield made his MLB debut for the Cardinals on July 3, 1953, at the age of 18, entering as a

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

in a 10–3 loss to the

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 ...

. He later collected his first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust or HIT, a fictional organization i ...

on July 17 that year and hit his first

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

on August 16. During his first season in the majors, he recorded a .179

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with two home runs and four

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBI). He did not hit another home run until 1958, when he finally qualified as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

. He studied at

Springfield Junior College Benedictine University at Springfield in Springfield, Illinois was a branch campus of Benedictine University, whose main campus is in Lisle, Illinois. It offered accelerated associate, bachelor's and graduate programs through the university's Sch ...

during the offseason. Schofield was traded to the

on June 15, 1958, in exchange for

Gene Freese Eugene Lewis Freese (January 8, 1934 – June 18, 2013), was an American professional baseball third baseman, who was widely noted as a journeyman. Freese played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates (twice), St. Louis Cardinals, ...

and

Johnny O'Brien John Thomas O'Brien (December 11, 1930 – June 13, 2025) was an American second baseman and pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1953, 1955–58), St. Louis Cardinals (1958) and Milwaukee Braves (1959). O'Bri ...

. In September 1960, he batted .403 and collected two or more hits in a game on eight occasions. However, he was only used as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

during the

1960 World Series The 1960 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1960 Major League Baseball season, 1960 season. The 57th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National Leag ...

, making four

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

s in

blowout Blowout or Blow out may refer to: Film and television *''Blow Out'', a 1981 film by Brian De Palma * '' The Blow Out'', a 1936 short film * ''Blow Out'' (TV series), a TV series on Bravo * "Blow Out" (''Prison Break''), an episode of ''Priso ...

losses against the

in Games 2, 3, and 6. During the 1963 season, he finished fifth in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL) in walks (69) and assists (422). Schofield became the first player to bat at

Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium ( ), typically shortened to Shea Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City.Larry Burright. He was traded to the

on May 22, 1965, in exchange for

José Pagán José Pagán (May 5, 1935 – June 7, 2011) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an infielder and outfielder for fifteen seasons, with three National League (NL) teams from to . ...

. He then led the league in

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

as a shortstop (.981) that year. Schofield began the 1966 season as a

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

, having been displaced from the starting role by

Tito Fuentes Rigoberto "Tito" Fuentes Peat (born January 4, 1944) is a retired professional baseball player. He played for 13 seasons in the Major League Baseball, major leagues between 1965 and 1978, primarily as a second baseman. Fuentes played for most o ...

. His contract was purchased by the

on May 11 that year, but was limited to just 25 games with the franchise due to arm swelling. He was later traded to the

on September 10, 1966, for Thad Tillotson; because this was after the

trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft ...

, Schofield was ineligible to play in the

1966 World Series The 1966 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1966 season. The 63rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles and National League ...

. He batted .216 with two home runs and 15 RBIs in 84 games the following year, before being released by the Dodgers in December 1967. During his later years, Schofield returned to the Cardinals in 1968 and 1971, sandwiched in between a stint with the

. He played his final major league game for the

on September 30, 1971, at the age of 36.

Personal life

Schofield married Donna Dabney in June 1956. They remained married for 56 years until her death from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

in November 2012. Together, they had three children: Dick, Kim, and Tammy (who predeceased him in 2021). Dick played in MLB for 14 seasons. Kim excelled at

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

and was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame in 1991, alongside her father and grandfather. His grandson,

Jayson Werth Jayson Richard Gowan Werth (born May 20, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2002 to 2017. His 15-season career was split among the Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, P ...

, played 15 seasons in the majors. After retiring from professional baseball, Schofield returned to his hometown, where he served on the

Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority The Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority (SMEAA) is the elected board that governs the Bank of Springfield Center in downtown Springfield, Illinois. History and Composition SMEAA was created pursuant to state statute, in w ...

from 1983 to 2003. He also worked for 23 years as a salesman for

Jostens Jostens Inc. is an American manufacturer of memorabilia. The company is primarily known for its production of yearbooks, academic regalia, and class rings for various high schools and colleges as well as championship rings for sports. For over 5 ...

, starting in 1975. Schofield died at home in Springfield, Illinois, on July 11, 2022, at age 87.

References

External links

Springfield Metropolitan Exposition and Auditorium Authority (SMEAA) Board Members
Sangamon County, Illinois – Elected Officials. {{DEFAULTSORT:Schofield, Ducky 1935 births 2022 deaths St. Louis Cardinals players Pittsburgh Pirates players San Francisco Giants players New York Yankees players Los Angeles Dodgers players Boston Red Sox players Milwaukee Brewers players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Baseball players from Springfield, Illinois Omaha Cardinals players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players American expatriate baseball players in Cuba

Early life

Professional career

Personal life

See also

References

External links