#218 Dick Schofield - Pittsburgh Pirates

John Richard Schofield
Pittsburgh Pirates
Shortstop

Bats:  Both  Throws:  Right  Height:  5'9"  Weight:  163
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

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 (#95) at second base and Dick Groat (#275) 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.

June 15, 2021 - Last day of school

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.

Building the Set
June 19, 2021 from Moorestown Mall Baseball Card Show - Card #314
Following our youngest son Ben's flawless performance of Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy at his piano recital, our family headed to the Moorestown Mall in New Jersey to browse a real live baseball card show.  Traditionally, I only venture into malls for baseball card shows and I can't honestly remember the last time, pre-pandemic, I had stepped foot into a mall.  The show was small, hosted by S&B Sports Promotions, with about a dozen tables and not much vintage to offer, but it was a sight for sore eyes.  It took us only about 15 minutes to scout the whole place out and I was lucky enough to find a friendly dealer with 1960s and 1970s Topps cards in great shape, in order and (best of all) reasonably priced.  I took my time going through his 1965 Topps commons, settling on 29 cards we needed and adding a card from the star pile to give us 30 new cards total.  I spent an even $100 (after a generous dealer discount) and this Schofield card was a little over $2.

A few days before attending this show, our sons attended their last day of school before beginning their glorious summer vacation.

The Card / Pirates Team Set
I did a quick internet search, and couldn't find any details on the baseball school referenced on the back of Schofield's card.  Because he came to the majors so young, the back of his card is already jammed with statistics and yet he was only 30 during the 1965 season.

1965 Season
Schofield began the season with the Pirates and was their opening day shortstop.  Looking to find more playing time for Gene Alley (#121), the Pirates dealt Schofield to the Giants on May 22nd for infielder Jose Pagan (#575).  Schofield assumed every day shortstop duties for the Giants, starting 90 games over the remaining games of the season.  In total, Schofield appeared in 132 games and batted .209 with a pair of home runs and 25 RBIs.  More importantly, he provided the Giants with steady defense up the middle as he led all National League shortstops with a .981 fielding percentage.

1954 Topps #191

1961 Topps #453

1966 Topps #474

1971 Topps #396

1985 Topps #138

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

57 - Schofield non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 8/20/21.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

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