For a player labeled a utility man, Dick Schofield left a prominent mark.
He helped the Pirates, Dodgers and Cardinals win National League pennants. He played 19 seasons in the majors. He was the second of four generations in his family to play pro baseball.
An infielder who reached the majors with the Cardinals at 18, Schofield had three stints with them in three different decades.
All in the family
Dick Schofield’s father, John Schofield, played in the minor leagues for 10 seasons and was nicknamed Ducky. At home in Springfield, Ill., John taught baseball to his son. “We’d go out and he’d hit nine million ground balls to me,” Dick told author Danny Peary for the book “We Played the Game.”
When Dick was 8, his father showed him how to bat from both sides of the plate and Dick, a natural right-hander, remained a switch-hitter in the pros.
John Schofield also took Dick on trips to St. Louis to see the Red Sox play the Browns because Ted Williams was Dick’s favorite player. Dick became a Red Sox fan, he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
During his senior baseball season in high school, Dick Schofield drew the interest of most big-league teams. A shortstop, he hoped to sign with the Red Sox, but the highest offers came from the Cardinals and White Sox.
Big bonus
On June 3, 1953, Schofield signed with the Cardinals, even though, as he told Danny Peary, they were a team “I had always rooted against.”
The $40,000 he received was then the largest bonus paid by the Cardinals. “He’s got a great arm,” Cardinals manager Eddie Stanky told the Post-Dispatch after seeing Schofield work out with the team. “His hands are extremely quick.”
Under the rules then, an amateur player signing for more than $6,000 was required to spend his first two seasons with the big-league team.
Schofield, 18 and looking younger, joined the Cardinals in New York. “I was scared to death,” he recalled to Peary. “The team was playing Brooklyn and I checked into the Commodore Hotel in Manhattan. Then I rode to the ballpark with Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst. They asked me to come along. Imagine that!”
Schofield was assigned to room on the road with the Cardinals’ backup catcher, Ferrell Anderson, 35. “He was like my dad and took good care of me,” Schofield told Peary. “He made it easier for me.”
Learning curve
Schofield was called Ducky by Cardinals players after they were introduced to his father and learned it had been his nickname.
He didn’t get into a game during his first month with the Cardinals, and spent his days being mentored by Stanky and shortstop Solly Hemus.
Stanky “knew baseball better than anybody I ever met,” Schofield told Peary. “Stanky and Hemus helped me learn to play shortstop in the majors, especially turning the double play.”
On June 25, in a game at St. Louis, Stanky complained that Giants pitcher Jim Hearn wasn’t coming to a stop in his delivery. After losing his argument with umpire Augie Donatelli, Stanky threw a towel from the dugout and got a warning from the ump, the Post-Dispatch reported.
Not wanting to back down, but not wanting to get ejected, Stanky turned to Schofield. Knowing the rookie wouldn’t get into the game, Stanky told him to toss a towel, according to the Society for American Baseball Research. Schofield obeyed, and Donatelli ejected him from a game before he’d ever played in one. Boxscore
Hello and goodbye
When Schofield made his big-league debut, on July 3, 1953, against the Cubs at Chicago, it was as a pinch-runner. Boxscore
His first hit came two weeks later, a single versus Johnny Podres at Brooklyn. Boxscore
Used primarily as a pinch-runner, Schofield hit .179 for the Cardinals in 1953 and .143 in 1954.
With the two mandatory seasons on the big-league club completed, Schofield spent most of the 1955 and 1956 seasons playing for manager Johnny Keane at minor-league Omaha.
(Schofield married his wife Donna in Omaha in 1956. Tyrone Power and Kim Novak, in town to promote their movie, “The Eddy Duchin Story,” sent them a cake, the Post-Dispatch reported, and that’s why the Schofields’ first child, a daughter, was named Kim.)
A backup to Cardinals shortstop Al Dark in 1957, Schofield was a reserve again in 1958 when he was traded to the Pirates in June for infielders Gene Freese and Johnny O’Brien.
“I was totally surprised,” Schofield said to Peary. “I thought the world had come to an end. Nobody wanted to play on the Pirates then. They were a last-place team and Forbes Field was a tough park.”
(According to Schofield, Freese’s reaction to the deal was: “They traded two hamburgers for a hot dog.”)
Key contribution
Schofield, strictly a shortstop with the Cardinals, also was used at second and third by Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh. With Bill Mazeroski at second and Dick Groat at short, Schofield got few starts, but grew to like the Pirates.
On Sept. 6, 1960, with the Pirates contending for a National League pennant, Groat suffered a broken left wrist when hit by a pitch from the Braves’ Lew Burdette. Schofield, hitless since May, was Murtaugh’s choice to replace Groat.
Steady on defense, Schofield surprised with the bat. He hit .375 in September and his on-base percentage for the month was .459.
“He was as fine a utility infielder that ever played this game,” Groat said to Peary. “He could give you two or three weeks of great play at any one of those positions.”
The Pirates won the pennant, but Groat was reinserted at shortstop for the World Series against the Yankees. In Game 2, a Yankees rout, Schofield entered in the sixth and got a single and a walk versus Bob Turley. Boxscore
Helping hand
Groat was traded to the Cardinals after the 1962 season and Schofield, at last, became a starting shortstop. He was the Pirates’ starter in 1963 and 1964. When rookie Gene Alley was deemed ready to take over in 1965, Schofield was dealt to the Giants in May and started for them that season.
Another rookie, Tito Fuentes, became the Giants shortstop in 1966 and Schofield was shipped to the Yankees in May.
On Sept. 10, 1966, the Dodgers acquired Schofield to help them in their pennant drive. He took over for Jim Gilliam and John Kennedy at third base, and stabilized the position, helping the Dodgers win the pennant.
According to The Pittsburgh Press, Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale said, “He’s been making the big play for us ever since we got him. If it isn’t his glove, it’s his bat. If it isn’t his bat, it’s his base running.”
Because Schofield joined the Dodgers after Sept. 1, he wasn’t eligible to play in the World Series. He watched on TV as the Dodgers got swept by the Orioles.
“The Dodgers couldn’t have won the league flag without him, and they collapsed in the World Series because he wasn’t eligible,” Los Angeles Times columnist Sid Ziff wrote.
Long, winding road
Released by the Dodgers after the 1967 season, Schofield, 33, was signed by the reigning World Series champion Cardinals to be a backup to Dal Maxvill at shortstop and Julian Javier at second base.
Fifteen years after he accompanied Schofield on his ride to the ballpark on the rookie’s first day in the big leagues, Red Schoendienst, manager of the 1968 Cardinals, told the Post-Dispatch, “Schofield is the finest all-round utility infielder we’ve got on the club.”
Schofield made 17 starts at second base and 13 starts at shortstop for the 1968 Cardinals, who repeated as National League champions. On May 4, he contributed four hits and three RBI against the Giants. Boxscore
Schofield got into two games of the 1968 World Series against the Tigers but didn’t have a plate appearance.
Two months later, the Cardinals traded Schofield to the team he rooted for as a boy, the Red Sox. Schofield spent two seasons with the Red Sox and was dealt back to the Cardinals in October 1970.
In July 1971, the Cardinals traded Schofield, 36, for the third and last time, packaging him with Jose Cardenal and Bob Reynolds to the Brewers for Ted Kubiak and a prospect.
A son, also Dick Schofield, played 14 seasons as an infielder in the majors, and a grandson, Jayson Werth (Kim’s son), was a big-league outfielder for 15 seasons.
RetroSimba 
I remember watching his son, Dick Jr., play a ton for the then California Angels in the early 90’s. I thought he was kind of terrible if I’m being honest with myself. Both father and son left a lot to be desired with the bat with a .614 and .624 OPS respectively. It seems like there were a lot of those “glove-only” types of guys in the league in the past that would probably toil in AAA in modern day. It’s hard to imagine a Walt Weiss or Dick Schofield or Mike Gallego (Ozzie Smith!?) cracking a lineup today in the realm of the power-hungry MLB. But then again, what do I know? Half of the Oakland A’s lineup is batting under .220!
What a funny, strange sport.
Thanks, Gary. It fascinates me that even players who were considered light hitters can excel against the highest caliber of pitchers. Against Don Drysdale, Dick Schofield batted .351 and had an on-base percentage of .448 (20 hits, 8 walks, 2 hit by pitches.) Against Warren Spahn, Schofield batted .333 and had an OBP of .368 (12 hits, 2 walks). A sample of Schofield’s batting marks against some other tough, successful pitchers: Curt Simmons (.360, 9 hits), Johnny Podres (.333, 11 hits) and Lew Burdette (.333, 9 hits). Oh, yes, pardon me. I forget that batting averages, like wins, no longer matter in baseball,
I remember that early on the coaches detected a hitch in his swing. My father told me that the Cards should ask for a $20,000 refund. Just a joke, but it demonstrates the unique nature of the bonus baby rule. It helped nobody. I saw Jayson Werth, Dick’s grandson, get a pinch hit bases loaded home run off Dean Kiekhefer in Washington in 2017. Jonathon Broxton was also lit up in that game. I think it was his last.
Thanks, Joseph. That bonus baby rule at the time, requiring them to be on the big-league team, was as stupid as today’s rule of putting a runner on second base to start an inning (after playing the first 9 innings under a different set of rules). Just goes to show that idiocy has been a component of baseball in all sorts of eras.
Thanks for mentioning Jayson Werth. I saw him play for the minor-league Frederick Keys, an Orioles farm club, against a Cardinals farm club, the Potomac Cannons, in 2000, and one could tell even from the stands that his talent level was a cut above the rest.
Good post. Say what you want about Dick Schofield but he played 19 at the major league level. He must have been doing something right. I ask myself, would the Pirates have given us Dick Groat if not for the fact that they knew they had someone they could depend on in Dick Schofield?
Thanks, Phillip. Yes, the Pirates thought they could give up Dick Groat to the Cardinals because of their depth at shortstop. They viewed Dick Schofield as a starter, and had two prime shortstop prospects, Gene Alley and Julio Gotay (the latter was acquired from the Cardinals in the Groat trade) Cardinals consultant Branch Rickey was opposed to swapping Gotay for Groat.
Pirates general manager Joe Brown told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette after the trade, “We have all the confidence in the world that Dick Schofield can do a capable job on both offense and defense for us.”
The Pirates overhauled three-fourths of their defense after the 1962 season, replacing Dick Stuart with Donn Clendenon at first, Groat with Schofield at short and Don Hoak with Bob Bailey at third. Only Bill Mazeroski remained unchanged at second. “We’re rebuilding this team for speed, defense and pitching,” Brown told The Pittsburgh Press.
Always disliked the way the Cardinals traded Schofield around (3x). Always liked him as a solid infielder. Had several of his baseball cards too when young.. 😎
Thanks, Gerry. It seemed like Dick Schofield should have been given more of a chance by the Cardinals in 1958, Al Dark opened the season as the shortstop but lacked range and was traded to the Cubs for reliever Jim Brosnan. The Cardinals tried Schofield as Dark’s replacement but got impatient with his lack of hitting and turned instead to Eddie Kasko at shortstop. That’s when the Cardinals dealt Schofield for the first time. Kasko wasn’t the answer and the Cardinals put rookie Ruben Amaro in at shortstop that summer. In an interesting twist, Kasko was Red Sox manager in 1970 when Schofield played for them.
That old cliche of a father and son playing catch…..well, i’m glad it happens because it makes for more baseball players! it’s fun watching the blue jays these days with three players with fathers who were also players, two of them hall of famers – biggio and guerrero. i had no idea jayson werth was part of the schofield family. these baseball families are like dynasties.
Thanks, Steve. I’m glad you are enjoying the Blue Jays. If you ever get the chance to see them at spring training in Dunedin, Fla., it’s worthwhile. Sadly, much of spring training in Florida has become a soulless, overpriced, money-grab. A ticket to a Cardinals spring training game, for instance, is $35 and up, but it does not allow you access to batting practice. You’d have to pay an upcharge for a VIP ticket to view batting practice. The Blue Jays at Dunedin, the Pirates at Bradenton and the Tigers at Lakeland still maintain a bit of the laidback, fan-friendly, easy-access feel of what spring training should be. Dunedin is a delightful town, with lots of parks, bike trails and local craft beer breweries. Dolphin sightings are common in the St. Joseph Sound and the kayaking is superb. The Blue Jays ballpark is located smack dab in a working-class neighborhood and many people walk, ride bikes or ride skateboards to the games.
I did get to spring training back in the mid 80’s. my grandpa lived in Sarasota and so we got to see the White Sox and also the pirates in Bradenton…”laidback and fan-friendly,” as you pointed out Mark. I got to meet my favorite player – Harold Baines. He didn’t say much, but he signed a ball. I later learned that he was kind of shy and a nightmare for reporters because he never gave them a good line.
Thanks for the terrific article on Dick Schofield. He was at the 1968 Cardinals team reunion in 2018. Tim McCarver was the color analyst on the Cards’ broadcast that day and talked about those ‘67 and ‘68 teams. He characterized Schofield as a hard-nosed player, and a “red-a”. That is the way he said it on the broadcast so as not to violate the FCC rules. :-)
Always like Schofield as a kid. He was a Pirate by the time I started following the game and I had his 1963 Topps card, which is a cool card. He seems a bit like an earlier day Tommy Edman, although Edman has more power.
As a kid I loved the Groat-for-Gotay deal. Later I have read how Branch Rickey, Bing Devine and the Cardinal’s “consultant”, was against the deal trading a younger guy for an older guy. Also Gotay was really good in the first half of the ‘62 season as the Cardinals rookie shortstop. He faltered over the second half, but at the time had a lot of promise. Groat was nearing the end of his career, but had a terrific 7 WAR season in ‘63, then was solid again on the ‘64 Champions. Meanwhile Schofield beat Gotay for the Pirates regular shortstop job.
Great memories, and a great time to grow up and follow sports.
I appreciate your insights, Michael. You express them well.
I am glad you mentioned that 1963 Topps card of Dick Schofield. The 1963 Topps cards were the first that I remember getting as a boy. It’s my favorite set.
I liked Dick Groat, too. I have a vivid memory of going to a candy store in early spring of 1964 and seeing the wax packs of Topps cards had arrived and were on sale near the counter. I bought a pack (probably for a nickel), hurried out of the store and tore open the wrapper while standing on the sidewalk. The first or second card I saw was the green-and-white 1964 Dick Groat card smiling back at me. I remember feeling quite lucky to get such a prominent Cardinal in the first pack of the spring.
You can make a pretty fair argument that the Bucs don’t win in ’60 if Schofield doesn’t play the role he did.
Quite true! Thanks for reading and for commenting.