Le Roy John Schalk (November 9, 1908 – March 11, 1990) was an American baseball player and manager. Schalk was not related to

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

catcher

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 for ...

, although both were from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. After playing with unaffiliated minor league teams in

Ottumwa, Iowa Ottumwa ( ) is a List of cities in Iowa, city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, th ...

Fairbury, Nebraska Fairbury is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,942 at the 2010 census. Fairbury has been closely connected with railroading for much of its history. It was founded on the projected ...

and

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

(where he hit .344 in 1932), 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 ...

signed the second baseman, who joined the team in St. Louis on September 17. Starting three games at second (including both ends of a doubleheader on the 18th) against the hapless Browns, Schalk went 3-for-12 with a double. They would be his only games as a Yankee. The following year, the Yanks assigned him to their top farm club in Newark; after bouncing around with minor-league clubs in Newark,

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

and

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

for a full decade, it looked like Schalk's big-league days were over. (Schalk played five years for Little Rock, even winning the Southern Association MVP Award in 1942.) Then came

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After a year away from the game in 1943, his hometown White Sox—desperate for fresh bodies—signed the 35-year-old Schalk as their second baseman. After hitting only .220 that year (but playing solid defensively in 146 games), Schalk returned to the Sox lineup in 1945 and batted .248, leading the majors in

sacrifice hits In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, an ...

and even drawing some MVP votes. In 1946, when the top MLB stars headed back from the war, Schalk returned to Oklahoma City—this time as player/manager. Schalk was fired the following year but hooked on with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

' farm club in

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the List of c ...

, where he played and piloted the club in 1948-49. Finally, he took over the

El Dorado, Arkansas El Dorado ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Union County, Arkansas, Union County, on the southern border of Arkansas, United States. According to the 2020 census, the population of the city is 17,755. El Dorado is headquarters of the Ark ...

Oilers in the Class C

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Engli ...

in 1950. Unfortunately, Schalk hardly found gold in

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

: the club finished deep in last place at 38-101. It was Schalk's last year in baseball. Roy Schalk eventually relocated to

Gainesville, Texas Gainesville is a city in and the county seat of Cooke County, Texas, United States. Its population was 17,394 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Texoma region and is an important Agri-business center. History Found ...

, where he died at the age 81 in 1990.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schalk, Roy 1908 births 1990 deaths Major League Baseball second basemen New York Yankees players Chicago White Sox players Baseball players from Chicago Minor league baseball managers Ottumwa Packers players Fairbury Jeffersons players Oklahoma City Indians players Newark Bears (International League) players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen Little Rock Travelers players Fort Worth Cats players Newport News Dodgers players El Dorado Oilers players