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John Richard Schofield
St. Louis Cardinals
Infield
Born: January 7, 1935, Springfield, IL
Signed: Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent, June 3, 1953
Major League Teams: St. Louis Cardinals 1953-1958; Pittsburgh Pirates 1958-1965; San Francisco Giants 1965-1966; New York Yankees 1966; Los Angeles Dodgers 1967; St. Louis Cardinals 1968; Boston Red Sox 1969-1970; St. Louis Cardinals 1971; Milwaukee Brewers 1971
World Series Appearances: Pittsburgh Pirates 1960; St. Louis Cardinals 1968
Died: July 11, 2022, Springfield, IL (age 87)
Infielder Dick Schofield spent much of his 19 years in the big leagues as a back-up, late-inning defensive replacement, pinch-hitter or pinch-runner and he started over 100 hundred games just three times, all between 1963 and 1965. Nicknamed "Ducky," Schofield made his big league debut a few weeks out of high school as an 18-year-old bonus baby with the Cardinals. He was dealt to the Pirates in June 1958, but the club didn't have much use for his services with Bill Mazeroski (#335) at second base and Dick Groat at shortstop. However Schofield played a pivotal role in the Pirates reaching the World Series in 1960, when he replaced Groat at short after the league's eventual MVP broke his wrist in the beginning of September. Schofield batted .403 during the month as the Pirates would go on to reach the Series and defeat the Yankees in seven games.
After Groat's trade to the Cardinals following the 1962 season, Schofield finally got the chance to start and was the Pirates' regular shortstop for two seasons. Dealt again to the Giants early in the 1965 season, Schofield saw regular playing time until a young Tito Fuentes was ready to take over at short. Schofield played for six more seasons, bouncing around to six different teams before retiring as a player in 1972. His son, also Dick Schofield, played for 14 seasons in the majors, primarily with the Angels. His grandson, Jayson Werth, played for 15 seasons, winning a World Series ring with the Phillies in 2008.
Died: July 11, 2022, Springfield, IL (age 87)
Infielder Dick Schofield spent much of his 19 years in the big leagues as a back-up, late-inning defensive replacement, pinch-hitter or pinch-runner and he started over 100 hundred games just three times, all between 1963 and 1965. Nicknamed "Ducky," Schofield made his big league debut a few weeks out of high school as an 18-year-old bonus baby with the Cardinals. He was dealt to the Pirates in June 1958, but the club didn't have much use for his services with Bill Mazeroski (#335) at second base and Dick Groat at shortstop. However Schofield played a pivotal role in the Pirates reaching the World Series in 1960, when he replaced Groat at short after the league's eventual MVP broke his wrist in the beginning of September. Schofield batted .403 during the month as the Pirates would go on to reach the Series and defeat the Yankees in seven games.
After Groat's trade to the Cardinals following the 1962 season, Schofield finally got the chance to start and was the Pirates' regular shortstop for two seasons. Dealt again to the Giants early in the 1965 season, Schofield saw regular playing time until a young Tito Fuentes was ready to take over at short. Schofield played for six more seasons, bouncing around to six different teams before retiring as a player in 1972. His son, also Dick Schofield, played for 14 seasons in the majors, primarily with the Angels. His grandson, Jayson Werth, played for 15 seasons, winning a World Series ring with the Phillies in 2008.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #82
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Accuracy Index -10
1969 Season
On December 3, 1968, the Cardinals traded Schofield to the Red Sox for pitcher Gary Waslewski (#438), ending his second of three stints with St. Louis. (Waslewski appears in the set in a later series, showing him with the Cardinals.) Schofield served a super utility role in Boston, playing all three infield positions and both corner outfield spots. He appeared in 94 games, making 35 starts at second base, six starts at third and three starts at shortstop. He batted .257 overall and .333 (11 for 33) as a frequently used pinch-hitter by manager Dick Williams (#349).
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1954 Topps #191
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1954-1955, 1958-1971, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #191
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 58 in the Beckett online database as of 5/1/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
In mid-March, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set. That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon. I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.
This is the fifth of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York. My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside. After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far. With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298. The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me less than a dollar. If I stick to composing posts five times a week, which may slip through the summer months, I should go through the stack and be caught up by the week of January 22, 2024!
The Card / Cardinals Team Set / Accuracy Index -10
Schofield is wearing a Pirates jersey here, a team he hadn't played with since the 1965 season. It looks as if the photo is from the same session as the photo used for his 1965 Topps card. The back of the card alerts readers Schofield had already move on to the Red Sox. Granted, this card comes early in the set, but if Topps could update the text on the back to reflect the December 1968 trade, couldn't they have also easily updated the team designation on the front to the Red Sox?
Accuracy Index: Schofield's card rates a -10 since he's wearing a Pirates jersey (-5) and hatless (-3), along with being shown on a team he didn't play for in 1969 (-2).
1969 Season
On December 3, 1968, the Cardinals traded Schofield to the Red Sox for pitcher Gary Waslewski (#438), ending his second of three stints with St. Louis. (Waslewski appears in the set in a later series, showing him with the Cardinals.) Schofield served a super utility role in Boston, playing all three infield positions and both corner outfield spots. He appeared in 94 games, making 35 starts at second base, six starts at third and three starts at shortstop. He batted .257 overall and .333 (11 for 33) as a frequently used pinch-hitter by manager Dick Williams (#349).
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First Mainstream Card: 1954 Topps #191
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (17): 1954-1955, 1958-1971, 1985
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1994 Topps Archives 1954 #191
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 58 in the Beckett online database as of 5/1/23.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog
1965 Topps Blog
#17 Mike Marshall - Seattle Pilots / #19 Ken Suarez - Cleveland Indians
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