Wally Schang
Born: 8/22/1889 in South Wales, NY, USA
Died: 3/6/1965 in St. Louis, MO, USA
MLB Debut: 1913-05-09 | Final Game: 1931-06-22
Bats: B | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 180 lbs
Full name: Walter Henry Schang
Biography
Wally Schang was a prominent American baseball player whose career spanned from 1913 to 1931, during a transformative period in the sport. Born in 1889, Schang established himself as an exceptional position player, playing in 1,842 games throughout his career. He was known for his solid offensive skills, finishing with 1,506 hits, 59 home runs, and 710 RBIs, all while maintaining a commendable batting average of .284. His ability to steal bases was also notable, as he recorded 121 stolen bases, showcasing his speed and agility on the field.
Schang played in an era that saw the rise of the modern game, transitioning from the deadball era to the more dynamic play that characterized the 1920s and 1930s. His contributions to the teams he played for, including the Philadelphia Athletics and the New York Yankees, were significant in shaping their successes during his tenure. As a catcher, Schang was respected not only for his batting prowess but also for his defensive capabilities behind the plate, making him a valuable asset to his teams. His legacy endures as one of the skilled players of his time, reflecting the evolution of baseball and the increasing emphasis on offensive production.
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Batting
| PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75.0 | 68.0 | 5.0 | 16.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.235 | 0.288 | 0.338 | 0.626 |
Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
| Season | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | 38.0 | 35.0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.143 | 0.189 | 0.143 | 0.332 |
| 1927 | 15.0 | 15.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.267 | 0.267 | 0.533 | 0.800 |
| 1929 | 18.0 | 15.0 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.400 | 0.471 | 0.600 | 1.071 |
| 1930 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.500 | 0.333 | 0.833 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1842 | 5307 | 769 | 1506 | 264 | 90 | 59 | 710 | 121 | 849 | 573 | 0.284 | 0.393 | 0.401 | 0.794 | 16159.4 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 | PHA | AL | 79 | 207 | 32 | 55 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 4 | 34 | 44 | 0.266 | 895.7 |
| 1914 | PHA | AL | 107 | 307 | 44 | 88 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 45 | 7 | 32 | 33 | 0.287 | 1043.6 |
| 1915 | PHA | AL | 116 | 359 | 64 | 89 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 44 | 18 | 66 | 47 | 0.248 | 1159.8 |
| 1916 | PHA | AL | 110 | 338 | 41 | 90 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 38 | 14 | 38 | 44 | 0.266 | 1360.5 |
| 1917 | PHA | AL | 118 | 316 | 41 | 90 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 36 | 6 | 29 | 24 | 0.285 | 1266.9 |
| 1918 | BOS | AL | 88 | 225 | 36 | 55 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 4 | 46 | 35 | 0.244 | 392.7 |
| 1919 | BOS | AL | 113 | 330 | 43 | 101 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 55 | 15 | 71 | 42 | 0.306 | 1791.6 |
| 1920 | BOS | AL | 122 | 387 | 58 | 118 | 30 | 7 | 4 | 51 | 7 | 64 | 37 | 0.305 | 1906.0 |
| 1921 | NYY | AL | 134 | 424 | 77 | 134 | 30 | 5 | 6 | 55 | 7 | 78 | 35 | 0.316 | 1901.8 |
| 1922 | NYY | AL | 124 | 408 | 46 | 130 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 53 | 12 | 53 | 36 | 0.319 | 951.7 |
| 1923 | NYY | AL | 84 | 272 | 39 | 75 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 5 | 27 | 17 | 0.276 | -132.2 |
| 1924 | NYY | AL | 114 | 356 | 46 | 104 | 19 | 7 | 5 | 52 | 2 | 48 | 43 | 0.292 | 740.3 |
| 1925 | NYY | AL | 73 | 167 | 17 | 40 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 2 | 17 | 9 | 0.240 | -500.2 |
| 1926 | SLA | AL | 103 | 285 | 36 | 94 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 50 | 5 | 32 | 20 | 0.330 | 1438.3 |
| 1927 | SLA | AL | 97 | 264 | 40 | 84 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 42 | 3 | 41 | 33 | 0.318 | 1003.8 |
| 1928 | SLA | AL | 91 | 245 | 41 | 70 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 39 | 8 | 68 | 26 | 0.286 | 1114.0 |
| 1929 | SLA | AL | 94 | 249 | 43 | 59 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 36 | 1 | 74 | 22 | 0.237 | 586.3 |
| 1930 | PHA | AL | 45 | 92 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 15 | 0.174 | -435.1 |
| 1931 | DET | AL | 30 | 76 | 9 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 0.184 | -326.2 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | 94 | 8 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 0.287 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | WS | NYA | 6 | 22 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.318 |
| 1922 | WS | NYA | 5 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.188 |
| 1921 | WS | NYA | 8 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0.286 |
| 1918 | WS | BOS | 5 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.444 |
| 1914 | WS | PHA | 4 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.167 |
| 1913 | WS | PHA | 4 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0.357 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3B | 60 | 0 | 84 | 113 | 24 | 11 |
| C | 1435 | 0 | 5202 | 1420 | 223 | 149 |
| OF | 167 | 0 | 335 | 31 | 23 | 3 |
| SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1913 | PHA | C | 72 | 0 | 317 | 97 | 14 | 9 |
| 1914 | PHA | C | 100 | 0 | 498 | 154 | 30 | 11 |
| 1915 | PHA | C | 26 | 0 | 110 | 46 | 9 | 1 |
| 1915 | PHA | 3B | 43 | 0 | 64 | 81 | 18 | 9 |
| 1915 | PHA | OF | 41 | 0 | 66 | 12 | 13 | 2 |
| 1916 | PHA | C | 36 | 0 | 136 | 67 | 14 | 6 |
| 1916 | PHA | OF | 61 | 0 | 130 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| 1917 | PHA | C | 80 | 0 | 267 | 102 | 17 | 11 |
| 1917 | PHA | 3B | 12 | 0 | 18 | 24 | 3 | 1 |
| 1917 | PHA | OF | 6 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1918 | BOS | C | 57 | 0 | 202 | 52 | 10 | 4 |
| 1918 | BOS | 3B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 1918 | BOS | SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1918 | BOS | OF | 16 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1919 | BOS | C | 103 | 0 | 359 | 131 | 14 | 15 |
| 1920 | BOS | C | 73 | 0 | 285 | 76 | 16 | 8 |
| 1920 | BOS | OF | 40 | 0 | 92 | 7 | 2 | 0 |
| 1921 | NYA | C | 132 | 0 | 500 | 101 | 19 | 13 |
| 1922 | NYA | C | 119 | 0 | 456 | 102 | 14 | 12 |
| 1923 | NYA | C | 81 | 0 | 292 | 60 | 11 | 6 |
| 1924 | NYA | C | 108 | 0 | 423 | 89 | 15 | 9 |
| 1925 | NYA | C | 58 | 0 | 172 | 55 | 6 | 8 |
| 1926 | SLA | C | 82 | 0 | 224 | 75 | 10 | 7 |
| 1926 | SLA | OF | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1927 | SLA | C | 75 | 0 | 213 | 73 | 7 | 10 |
| 1928 | SLA | C | 82 | 0 | 263 | 46 | 5 | 5 |
| 1929 | SLA | C | 85 | 0 | 268 | 56 | 4 | 6 |
| 1930 | PHA | C | 36 | 0 | 126 | 18 | 4 | 2 |
| 1931 | DET | C | 30 | 0 | 91 | 20 | 4 | 6 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 1431 |
| Third Base | 61 |
| Shortstop | 1 |
| Left Field | 102 |
| Center Field | 64 |
| Right Field | 5 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | C2 |
| 1914 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | C1 |
| 1913 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | C |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 18th | 3.0 | 64 | 0 |
| 1924 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 11th | 7.0 | 64 | 0 |
| 1922 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 13th | 7.0 | 64 | 0 |
| 1914 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 10th | 10.0 | 64 | 0 |
| 1913 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 8th | 11.0 | 64 | 0 |