Most baseball historians agree that Wally Schang was the greatest offensive catcher of the deadball (pre-1920) era. When Schang was not catching, his managers usually played him in center field, right, or at third base, in order to keep his bat in the lineup. Schang\'s defensive work was also regarded as outstanding, although he holds the American League career record for most errors by a catcher, with 223.\n', '

Schang was discovered by George Stallings in 1912, when he played in the sandlots of upstate New York for the Buffalo Pullmans. Schang started his major league career with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1913, who won the World Series in five games against the New York Giants and returned the next year, only to be swept by the 1914 Miracle Braves, who were managed by Schang\'s mentor, George Stallings.\n', '

After Connie Mack sold many of his players following the 1914 Series, Schang played for three last-place Athletics teams in 1915–1917, until being sold to the Boston Red Sox before the 1918 season. Schang was the regular catcher for that club, the last Red Sox team to win the title until 2004. Soon afterwards, Boston owner Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. Schang followed Ruth in 1921, becoming the first in the great string of Yankee catchers, including Bill Dickey, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard and Thurman Munson.\n', '

Return to Wally Schang Autograph Profile