John G. Scheible (February 16, 1866 – August 6, 1897) was a professional baseball player who pitched for two different teams over two seasons. He made his debut in 1893 with the

Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followe ...

and played for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

the following year. He was born in the village of

Brier Hill Brier Hill is a neighborhood in Youngstown, Ohio, that was once viewed as the city's "Little Italy." The neighborhood, which was the site of the city's first Italian settlement, stretches along the western edge of Youngstown's lower north side a ...

, now part of

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, an industrial town located near the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

border.

Amateur and professional career

Scheible's obituary in ''The Youngstown Telegram'' says that he was employed at a local flour mill before he began playing ball with minor league teams affiliated with the

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second league ...

, Iron & Oil League, and

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

. In the early 1890s, he broke into 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 ...

.''The Youngstown Telegram'', Youngstown, Ohio, August 9, 1897

Later years

Upon his retirement from the National League, Scheible returned to Youngstown, where he continued to play amateur and semi-professional ball. He contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

shortly after being hired to pitch for a game in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

. Scheible became aware of his condition as he was about to board a train to Erie. He was rushed to

Mahoning County Mahoning County is located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 228,614. Its county seat and largest city is Youngstown. The county is named after the Mahoning River and was formed on March 1, 1846; the 83rd co ...

Hospital, where he died a few days later.''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', Youngstown, Ohio, August 9, 1897. Scheible's obituary states that he was survived by his father, John Sr., three sisters, Elizabeth and Katherine Scheible and Mrs. Mary Miller, and brothers Charles and William. (His surviving brother Charles became mayor of Youngstown in the early 1920s.) The newspaper article described Jack Scheible in the following terms: "As a ballplayer he was a determined person and as a citizen always sociable, quiet and unassuming".

References

External links

Baseball Almanac Player Page

1894 Philadelphia Phillies Roster
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheible, Jack 1866 births 1897 deaths Cleveland Spiders players Philadelphia Phillies players Baseball players from Youngstown, Ohio 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Sterling (minor league baseball) players Galesburg (minor league baseball) players Burlington (minor league baseball) players Youngstown Giants players Springfield, Ohio (minor league baseball) players Altoona Mud Turtles players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Altoona Mad Turtles players Lancaster Chicks players Bridgeton (minor league baseball) players Reading Actives players New Bedford Whalers (baseball) players New Bedford Browns players Youngstown Puddlers players Minor league baseball managers Deaths from pneumonia in Ohio