Pius Louis Schwert (November 22, 1892 – March 11, 1941) was an American politician and 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. He played for the

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 ...

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 ...

and was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from from 1939 to 1941. A member of the Democratic Party, Schwert was elected

county clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

of Erie County in 1933 and reelected in 1936. He was elected to Congress in 1938 and reelected in 1940. Schwert died following a heart attack as he was giving a speech on March 11, 1941.

Early life

Schwert was born in

Angola, New York Angola is a village in the town of Evans in Erie County, New York, United States. Located east of Lake Erie, the village is southwest of downtown Buffalo. As of the 2010 Census, Angola had a population of 2,127. An unincorporated community ...

, on November 22, 1892. He was the only child of Louisa and Julius Schwert, who was the

town supervisor The administrative divisions of New York are the various units of government that provide local services in the American state of New York. The state is divided into boroughs, counties, cities, towns, and villages. (The only boroughs, the f ...

of Evans, New York. He attended Angola High School in Angola, until he transferred to Lafayette High School in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, in 1909. He played 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 catc ...

on the baseball teams of both high schools, and played

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

baseball on the weekends. Schwert graduated from Lafayette in 1910. PiusLSchwert

Schwert enrolled at the Wharton School of Commerce at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. While enrolled at Penn, he was a member of

Sigma Phi Epsilon Sigma Phi Epsilon (), commonly known as SigEp, is a social college Fraternities and sororities, fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College, which is now the University of ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the Penn Quakers as a catcher. In his senior year, his teammates voted for him to be the team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He had a .183

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 ...

in 26 games for the Quakers in 1914. Despite his poor batting average, his defensive abilities resulted in his being named to the "All-Consensus" team, a forerunner for the College Baseball All-America Team. Schwert graduated from Penn in 1914 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in economics.

Professional baseball career

After his graduation, Frank Chance, the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of the

, signed Schwert to a contract. He made his major league debut on August 20. He played in three games for the Yankees in 1914, and did not have a hit in eight

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. During the 1914–15 offseason, Schwert claimed that there was an error in his contract that made him a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He was pursued by the

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

, but Bill Donovan, the Yankees' new manager, convinced him to sign a new contract with the Yankees. In 1915, Schwert was the third-string catcher behind Jeff Sweeney and Les Nunamaker. Schwert played in four games for the Yankees before they demoted him to the Jersey City Skeeters of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League B ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. He batted .214 in 31 games for Jersey City, was promoted to the Yankees towards the end of the season, and played in five more games for the Yankees. The game of October 7, 1915, was his last major league game. He played in 12 major league games, with a .208 batting average in 24

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

s. After the 1915 season, the University of the South named Schwert their new

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

. He opened a general store in Angola in 1916. With the Yankees, Schwert competed with Nunamaker, Roxy Walters, and Walt Alexander for a roster spot for the 1916 season, but he was demoted to the Newark Indians of the International League, where he batted .232 in 84 games. Before the 1917 season, he informed teams that he was retired from baseball. The Mobile Sea Gulls of the Class A

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

purchased him from Newark, and Schwert refused to report to Mobile. Mobile suspended him but still reserved him for the 1918 season. In March 1918, Schwert enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. He served first as a

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

at the Bremerton Navy Yard, and later he was commissioned as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

at the

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

. In Philadelphia, he played for the 4th Naval District baseball team, which was managed by Harry Davis, and included Morrie Rath, Jing Johnson, and Bob Shawkey. He was discharged from the Navy at the end of the war. Schwert returned to Angola in 1920, and played semi-professional baseball locally. When all three catchers for the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

of the International League were injured during the 1920 season, Schwert signed with Buffalo, and batted .496 in 14 games. He returned to the Bisons in 1921, under the agreement that he would only play for Buffalo in home games. He batted .262 in 29 games. He was released in April 1922 when he did not report to the team. He worked at the Bank of Angola, starting as a clerk and cashier, and working his way up to serve as its president. He remained involved in semi-professional sports, becoming the president of the Western New York League in 1929.

Political career

Schwert became involved in civic organizations in Angola. He was elected vice commander of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

, president of the Angola volunteer fire department and the Southwestern Volunteer Firemen's Association, and the master of the

masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

in Evans. In 1933, Schwert ran for

of Erie County as a Democrat. He won the election to a three-year term, won reelection in 1936, and served from 1934 to 1938.

Congress

In 1938, Democrats needed to nominate a replacement candidate for James M. Mead in in the

, after Mead was nominated to run for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. Democratic Party members selected Schwert. He won the election, defeating Republican John Cornelius Butler. Schwert was reelected in 1940, beating Edward F. Moss. As a member of Congress, Schwert opposed the development of the

Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...

and supported the development of harbors for boats in the

Southtowns The Southtowns (also known as the Buffalo Southtowns, the South Towns, or Southtown) is a region of Western New York, United States, that lies within the snowbelt or ski country. It includes the southern suburbs of Buffalo, New York. This is t ...

and welfare programs and vocational training for youth. He supported providing aid to France and Great Britain during World War II. Schwert also wrote to

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Herbert H. Lehman to advocate for the completion of McKinley Parkway.

Death

Schwert died in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on March 11, 1941. He attended a dinner party at the Annapolis Hotel and collapsed shortly after making a speech. In the speech, he was announcing his candidacy for mayor of Buffalo. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead of a heart attack. He was buried at Forest Avenue Cemetery in Angola. Schwert had survived a previous heart attack in 1940 that occurred when he was exercising in the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

gymnasium.

Personal life and death

Schwert married Harriet "Hattie" Elizabeth Schwert, a distant cousin, on February 12, 1923. She was a teacher in Buffalo and

Eden, New York Eden is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 7,688 at the 2010 census. Eden is one of the interior " Southtowns" of Erie County, lying in the south-central part of the county and to the south of Buffalo. History ...

. They did not have children. Harriet Schwert ran against Butler in the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to fill the remainder of Schwert's term in Congress. As she was still in mourning, Harriet did not campaign, with Mead making speeches on her behalf. Butler defeated Schwert in the election.

Electoral history

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schwert, Pius 1892 births 1941 deaths People from Angola, New York Military personnel from New York (state) American athlete-politicians County clerks in New York (state) Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Erie County, New York New York Yankees players Jersey City Skeeters players Newark Indians players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Wharton School alumni United States Navy personnel of World War I Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) American people of German descent United States Navy officers Lafayette High School (Buffalo, New York) alumni Mobile Sea Gulls players 20th-century New York (state) politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century American sportsmen