The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame joins with the family of Red Schoendienst and the entire St. Louis Cardinals organization in mourning the passing of one of the most beloved Redbirds ever to wear the Birds on the Bat jersey.
Schoendienst passed away at age 95 on Wednesday, the Cardinals announced.
Known by many as a quiet gentleman for his kindness toward others, he spent 67 of his 76 years in baseball with St. Louis and was such a well-respected man in the game that the Cardinals retired his jersey No. 2 in 1996.
The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inducted Schoendienst in 1987 and, in 2005, honored him with a bronze bust as he was named a Missouri Sports Legend.
Schoendienst was inducted into Cooperstown in 1989, part of a career in which Schoendienst was a 10-time All-Star as a player from 1945 to 1963. He spent 15 of his 19 big-league playing seasons with St. Louis, and later managed the club from 1965 to 1976. He piloted the 1967 Cardinals to a World Series championship and the 1968 Cardinals to the National League pennant.
Schoendienst, who was serving as a Senior Special Assistant for the Cardinals, entered his 67th season with the Cardinals and 76th in professional baseball in 2018. The Germantown, Illinois native was part of baseball as a player (1945-56, 1961-63), coach (1964, 1979-95), manager (1965-76) and interim manager (1980, 1990) had been in his current executive role with the team since 1996.
It all started in 1945, when the switch-hitting Schoendienst joined the club to fill in for left fielder Stan Musial, who was serving in the U.S. Army. Schoendienst batted .278 with 47 RBI and a National League-leading 26 stolen bases. The following year, Musial returned to the Cardinals, and Schoendienst moved to third base and then shortstop before settling in at second base. St. Louis won the World Series over the Boston Red Sox as Schoendienst began to develop into one of the best hitting and fielding second basemen of all time.
In 1953, Schoendienst put together his finest season. He established career highs with a .342 batting average — second in the league to Carl Furillo of the Brooklyn Dodgers (.344), 15 home runs and 79 RBI. In a surprising trade, Schoendienst was dealt to the New York Giants along with outfielder Jackie Brandt, pitcher Dick Littlefield, catcher Bill Sarni and shortstop Bobby Stephenson in exchange for shortstop Alvin Dark, catcher Ray Katt, pitcher Don Liddle and outfielder Whitey Lockman on June 14, 1956.
The following year, Schoendienst was traded to the Milwaukee Braves, who won the 1957 World Series and the 1958 N.L. pennant. He subsequently returned to St. Louis in 1961. On the Cardinals’ career lists, Schoendienst ranks fourth in at-bats (6,841) and pinch-hits (54), fifth in games played (1,795), sixth in runs (1,025) and hits (1,980), seventh in doubles (352), and eighth in total bases (2,657). He led the N.L. with 200 hits in 1957, and seven times he either led or tied for the league lead in fielding percentage.
Schoendienst served as a coach on the 1964 World Championship team and was named manager when Johnny Keane resigned at the conclusion of the season. Schoendienst piloted St. Louis to a World Series victory over the Red Sox in 1967 and another N.L. pennant in 1968 in route to a 12-year tenure as skipper, the longest in franchise history until Tony La Russa surpassed him in 2008. Schoendienst ranks second in franchise annals with 1,041 wins.
Schoendienst was the second baseman on the Cardinals’ 1946 World Championship team, and he piloted the Redbirds to a World Series victory over the Boston Red Sox in 1967 and another National League pennant in 1968. He served as a coach on the Cardinals’ 1964 and 1982 World Championship squads.
A 10-time N.L. All-Star, Schoendienst socked a game-winning home run in the 14th inning of the 1950 Mid-Summer Classic. It marked the switch-hitter’s first career homer batting right-handed. Schoendienst later managed the Senior Circuit to All-Star Game victories in 1968 and 1969. Schoendienst amassed 2,449 career hits, including a league-leading 200 in 1957. He either led or tied for the N.L. lead in fielding percentage seven times.