Red Schoendienst ✝

Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst (/ˈʃeɪndiːnst/; February 2, 1923 – June 6, 2018) was an American professional baseball second baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB), and is largely known for his coaching, managing, and playing years with the St. Louis Cardinals. He played for 19 years with the St. Louis Cardinals (1945–1956, 1961–1963), New York Giants (1956–1957) and Milwaukee Braves (1957–1960), and was named to 10 All Star teams. He then managed the Cardinals from 1965 through 1976 – the second-longest managerial tenure in the team\'s history (behind Tony La Russa). Under his direction, St. Louis won the 1967 and 1968 National League pennants and the 1967 World Series, and he was named National League Manager of the Year in both 1967 and 1968. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. At the time of his death, he had worn a Major League uniform for 74 consecutive years as a player, coach, or manager, and had served 67 of his 76 years in baseball with the Cardinals.\n', ' Schoendienst was born in Germantown, Illinois, approximately 40 miles (64 km) east of downtown St. Louis to Joe and Mary Schoendienst, one of seven children. His father was a coal miner, and the family lived without running water or electricity.\n', ' Schoendienst showed a marked aptitude for baseball at a young age. In school he would handicap himself by hitting left-handed. In 1939, at age 16, he dropped out of school to join the Civilian Conservation Corps, a major public works employment program within President Franklin D. Roosevelt\'s New Deal. While working on a fence, he suffered a serious injury to his left eye from a nail. Many doctors recommended removal of the eye, but eventually Red found one willing to pursue non-surgical treatment. He endured constant headaches and years of rehabilitation.\n', '