It was 70 years ago, on April 17th, 1945, that Albert “Red” Schoendienst began his Hall of Fame baseball career.
And on Friday, April 17th, 2015, the St. Louis Cardinals saw fit to honor him in multiple ways.
First, they did so by starting a Twitter campaign with the “#LoveRed2” hashtag, urging fans to share a video message to celebrate a true treasure and legend. The campaign is intended to go on for the entire year.
Second, during Friday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, the Cardinals wore special patches on their sleeves which had Schoendienst’s number two and the words “70 years and counting” around the outside of it. There was also a special pre-game ceremony held which both teams were out of the dugouts as Schoendienst and his family were honored.
“We want to mark this amazing milestone by letting Red know how much he means to the entire Cardinals family,” said Bill DeWitt III, the team president. He added: “We encourage fans to join us in showing their affinity, affection and appreciation for No. 2 as he celebrates 70 years and counting in Major League Baseball.”
He is the oldest living former manager of a World Series team, and currently is a special assistant to general manager John Mozeliak.
Current Cardinals’ manager Mike Matheny, who has frequently asked for, and received advice from Schoendienst, said. “This is what a Cardinal looks like in my mind.”
Born in Germantown, Illinois on Feb. 2nd, 1923, Schoendienst, 92, is a member of not only the 2,000-hit club (2,449 career hits), but also the 1,000-runs club (with 1,223 career runs). In Cardinals’ franchise history, he ranks fourth in franchise history in at-bats (6,841), fifth in games played (1,795), sixth in runs (1,025) and hits (1,980) and seventh in doubles (352).
His career fielding percentage was .983, and went 320 straight chances without an error in 1950.
In his first season, 1945, Schoendienst was assigned to left-field, as the MVP in 1944, Marty Marion (who passed away in 2011 at age 94) was established as the primary second-baseman. He would hit .278 with 47 RBI and was the National League leader with 26 stolen bases.
He’d switch to two different positions before finally becoming second baseman during the 1946 season, being a part of the Cardinals team that beat the Red Sox in the World Series.
By far, his best season was in 1953. He finished second in the league with a .342 batting average, 15 home runs, and 79 RBI. Three years later, he was traded to the New York Giants, and the next season, was traded from the Giants to the Milwaukee Braves, winners of the 1957 World Series and the 1958 N.L Pennant. In 1957, he led the National League in hits with exactly 200.
He later returned to St. Louis, and was a coach on the Cardinals’ 1964 World Series Championship team, whom were managed by Johnny Keane. Schoendienst took over as manager the following year when Keane resigned at the conclusion of the season. He would manage the 1967 Cardinals’ World Series Championship team, and the 1968 team that won the National League Pennant. His 12 years as manager is second longest in team history (behind Tony La Russa).
Among his long list of accomplishments include his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989, having his number officially retired by the Cardinals in 1990, and becoming an inaugural member of the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.
Red Schoendienst is a beloved figure, on and off the field, and Cardinal Nation, St. Louis, and the world as a whole, is lucky to have him…
