Germany Schaefer
Encyclopedia
Herman A. "Germany" Schaefer (February 4, 1876 – May 16, 1919) was a second baseman
in Major League Baseball
who played fifteen seasons with the Chicago Cubs
, Detroit Tigers
, Washington Senators
, Newark Pepper, New York Yankees
, and Cleveland Indians
.
with the Tigers. During the season, Schaefer and Red Killefer
were traded by the Tigers to the Senators for Jim Delahanty
. In 1,150 career games, Schaefer batted
.257 with 9 home runs and 201 stolen bases.
Schaefer was known as both a baseball trickster and a tactician in the early years of 20th century baseball. Well liked, stories of his exploits dot both the memories of his contemporaries and the newspaper reports of the time. One of his most famous exploits was stealing first base, which was perhaps erroneously recalled in Lawrence Ritter
's The Glory of Their Times
by Detroit outfielder Davy Jones
. With runners on first and third, a common ploy in baseball at the time was an attempted double steal, where the runner heading from first (in this case Schaefer) ran for second, hoping to draw a throw from the catcher as the runner on third tried to scamper home. The catcher did not throw the first time, inspiring Schaefer to steal first base in reverse and then attempt the double steal once more on the following pitch. It worked in Jones' recollection although factual evidence of this is lacking.
On August 4, 1911, Schaefer tried the same stunt again, this time for the Washington Senators
, inspiring the Chicago White Sox
' manager, Hugh Duffy
, to come out of the dugout to protest. With the chaos on the field, Clyde Milan
attempted to steal home, where he was thrown out. This event was recorded by both the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune on the following day.
Although it was not passed until 1920, after Schaefer's death, rule 7.08i states that a player is out if "After he has acquired legal possession of a base, he runs the bases in reverse order for the purpose of confusing the defense or making a travesty of the game. The umpire shall immediately call “Time” and declare the runner out." It is often said that it was passed because of Schaefer's thefts.
Though a clown on the field, Schaefer had a very sound baseball mind. He also made lots of friends throughout the baseball world, including the irascible Ty Cobb
. Schaefer bestowed upon Walter Johnson
his nickname "Barney" at a traffic stop, claiming that Johnson was Barney Oldfield
, the racecar driver, a stunt that got him out of a speeding ticket. Schaefer modified his own moniker, "Germany," replacing it with "Liberty" after the United States declared war on Germany in 1917.
Schaefer was the player representative present at the meeting held in preparation for the 1907 World Series
between Schaefer's team, the Tigers, and the Chicago Cubs
. The others in the meeting, discussing ground rules, players' pool, etc., were "Garry" Herrman
, owner of the Cincinnati Reds
and head of the Commission; the league presidents Ban Johnson
and Harry Pulliam
, the managers Hughie Jennings
and Frank Chance
, and the two umpires, Hank O'Day
and Jack Sheridan
. Schaefer asked "Is a tie game a legal game?" It was supposedly a trivial question, but Schaefer made a point: If there is a tie game in the Series, do the players share in its gate receipts? After a short discussion with Johnson and Pulliam, Herrman answered, 'The players' pool will include receipts from any tie games.' As luck would have it, the first game was a 12-inning, 3–3 tie, called due to darkness. The players shared in the receipts of all five games (the Cubs won the next four in a row). But a month later the Commission changed its ruling: The players share in the receipts of the first four games only, ties or no ties.
Jimmy McAleer
, Schaefer's manager with the Washington Senators
, took him on several barnstorming
all star trips, and with an all star team posing as the New York Giants
he traveled around the world in 1913, playing a variety of positions and entertaining crowds and his teammates alike. In Ceylon, Schaefer even struck up a kinship with tea magnate Sir Thomas Lipton.
Schaefer was a pioneer of baseball clowning, and his vaudeville
act with teammate Charley O'Leary
was inspiration for the MGM musical "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" starring Gene Kelly
and Frank Sinatra
. He also teamed with Nick Altrock
, who later took baseball clowning to legendary heights with Al Schacht.
Among Schaefer's legendary antics are diversionary tactics with umbrellas, raincoats and galoshes, to get games canceled on account of the weather. In one story he wears the outfit out onto the playing field, in another he wears it to the plate during a drizzle, but when the umpire sends him back to the dugout to take it off, the rains begin to pour, forcing the umpire to indeed call the game. An account of Schaefer wearing a raincoat onto the field occurs in the July 4, 1906, edition of The Washington Post
. It is not known whether he wore it on offense or defense.
In 1919, a little over a year after Schaefer played his last game, he died in Saranac Lake, New York
. Several of his baseball contemporaries died of tuberculosis
at the sanitarium there, and that disease also claimed Schaefer. While on a scouting trip to Lake Placid, New York
, Schaefer suffered a fatal hemorrhage complicating his pulmonary tuberculosis. He died at 9:30 AM on May 16, 1919, at age 42, according to the death certificate signed by John A. Farrell, M.D. of Saranac Lake.
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who played fifteen seasons with the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, Newark Pepper, New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, and Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
.
Biography
Born in Chicago, Illinois, he played in two World SeriesWorld Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
with the Tigers. During the season, Schaefer and Red Killefer
Red Killefer
Wade Hampton "Red" Killefer was an outfielder and second baseman in Major League Baseball who played seven seasons with the Detroit Tigers , Washington Senators , Cincinnati Reds , and New York Giants .Born in Bloomingdale, Michigan, Killefer attended the University of Michigan from 1904-1907...
were traded by the Tigers to the Senators for Jim Delahanty
Jim Delahanty
James Christopher Delahanty was a second baseman in Major League Baseball. He played thirteen seasons with eight clubs: the Chicago Orphans , New York Giants , Boston Beaneaters , Cincinnati Reds , St. Louis Browns , Washington Senators , Detroit Tigers , and Brooklyn Tip-Tops...
. In 1,150 career games, Schaefer batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.257 with 9 home runs and 201 stolen bases.
Schaefer was known as both a baseball trickster and a tactician in the early years of 20th century baseball. Well liked, stories of his exploits dot both the memories of his contemporaries and the newspaper reports of the time. One of his most famous exploits was stealing first base, which was perhaps erroneously recalled in Lawrence Ritter
Lawrence Ritter
Lawrence S. Ritter was an American writer whose specialties were economics and baseball.Ritter was a professor of economics and finance, and chairman of the Department of Finance at the Graduate School of Business Administration of New York University. He also edited the academic periodical...
's The Glory of Their Times
The Glory of Their Times
The Glory of Their Times: The Story Of The Early Days Of Baseball Told By The Men Who Played It is a book, edited by Lawrence Ritter, telling the stories of early 20th century baseball...
by Detroit outfielder Davy Jones
Davy Jones (baseball)
David Jefferson "Davy" Jones , nicknamed "Kangaroo", was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played fifteen seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Browns, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, and Pittsburgh Rebels...
. With runners on first and third, a common ploy in baseball at the time was an attempted double steal, where the runner heading from first (in this case Schaefer) ran for second, hoping to draw a throw from the catcher as the runner on third tried to scamper home. The catcher did not throw the first time, inspiring Schaefer to steal first base in reverse and then attempt the double steal once more on the following pitch. It worked in Jones' recollection although factual evidence of this is lacking.
On August 4, 1911, Schaefer tried the same stunt again, this time for the Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, inspiring the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
' manager, Hugh Duffy
Hugh Duffy
Hugh Duffy was a 19th century Major League Baseball player. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.-Career:...
, to come out of the dugout to protest. With the chaos on the field, Clyde Milan
Clyde Milan
Jesse Clyde Milan was an American baseball player who spent his entire career as an outfielder with the Washington Senators . He was not a powerful batter, but was adept at getting on base and was fleet of foot, receiving the nickname "Deerfoot" for his speed...
attempted to steal home, where he was thrown out. This event was recorded by both the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune on the following day.
Though a clown on the field, Schaefer had a very sound baseball mind. He also made lots of friends throughout the baseball world, including the irascible Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
. Schaefer bestowed upon Walter Johnson
Walter Johnson
Walter Perry Johnson , nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Washington Senators...
his nickname "Barney" at a traffic stop, claiming that Johnson was Barney Oldfield
Barney Oldfield
Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield was an automobile racer and pioneer. He was born on a farm on the outskirts of Wauseon, Ohio. He was the first man to drive a car at 60 miles per hour on an oval...
, the racecar driver, a stunt that got him out of a speeding ticket. Schaefer modified his own moniker, "Germany," replacing it with "Liberty" after the United States declared war on Germany in 1917.
Schaefer was the player representative present at the meeting held in preparation for the 1907 World Series
1907 World Series
The 1907 World Series featured the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers, with the Cubs winning the Series four games to none for their first championship....
between Schaefer's team, the Tigers, and the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
. The others in the meeting, discussing ground rules, players' pool, etc., were "Garry" Herrman
August Herrmann
August Garry Herrmann was an American executive in Major League Baseball.-Biography:He was born on May 3, 1859. He served as president of the Cincinnati Reds of the National League from 1902 to 1927...
, owner of the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
and head of the Commission; the league presidents Ban Johnson
Ban Johnson
Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson , was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League ....
and Harry Pulliam
Harry Pulliam
Harry Clay Pulliam was an American baseball executive who served as the sixth President of the National League, from 1903 until his death , in the period in which the NL and the fledgling American League settled their hostilities and formed a National Agreement which led to the creation of the...
, the managers Hughie Jennings
Hughie Jennings
Hugh Ambrose Jennings was a Major League Baseball player and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won National League championships in 1894, 1895, and 1896. During the three championship seasons, Jennings had...
and Frank Chance
Frank Chance
Frank Leroy Chance was a Major League Baseball player at the turn of the 20th century. Performing the roles of first baseman and manager, Chance led the Chicago Cubs to four National League championships in the span of five years and earned the nickname "The Peerless Leader".Chance was elected to...
, and the two umpires, Hank O'Day
Hank O'Day
Henry Francis O'Day was an American right-handed pitcher, umpire and manager in Major League Baseball who worked as a National League umpire for 30 years between 1895 and 1927, and was the only person in major league history to appear as a player, manager and umpire. His 3,986 total games as an...
and Jack Sheridan
Jack Sheridan
John F. Sheridan was an American umpire in Major League Baseball. In his 30-year career as an official, he worked 18 seasons between 1890 and 1914 in three major leagues....
. Schaefer asked "Is a tie game a legal game?" It was supposedly a trivial question, but Schaefer made a point: If there is a tie game in the Series, do the players share in its gate receipts? After a short discussion with Johnson and Pulliam, Herrman answered, 'The players' pool will include receipts from any tie games.' As luck would have it, the first game was a 12-inning, 3–3 tie, called due to darkness. The players shared in the receipts of all five games (the Cubs won the next four in a row). But a month later the Commission changed its ruling: The players share in the receipts of the first four games only, ties or no ties.
Jimmy McAleer
Jimmy McAleer
James Robert "Loafer" McAleer was an American center fielder, manager, and stockholder in Major League Baseball who assisted in establishing the American League. He spent most of his 13-season playing career with the Cleveland Spiders, and went on to manage the Cleveland Blues, St. Louis Browns,...
, Schaefer's manager with the Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
, took him on several barnstorming
Barnstorming
Barnstorming was a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s in which stunt pilots would perform tricks with airplanes, either individually or in groups called a flying circus. Barnstorming was the first major form of civil aviation in the history of flight...
all star trips, and with an all star team posing as the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
he traveled around the world in 1913, playing a variety of positions and entertaining crowds and his teammates alike. In Ceylon, Schaefer even struck up a kinship with tea magnate Sir Thomas Lipton.
Schaefer was a pioneer of baseball clowning, and his vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
act with teammate Charley O'Leary
Charley O'Leary
Charles Timothy O'Leary was a Major League Baseball shortstop who played eleven seasons with the Detroit Tigers , St. Louis Cardinals , and St. Louis Browns ....
was inspiration for the MGM musical "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" starring Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
and Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
. He also teamed with Nick Altrock
Nick Altrock
Nicholas Altrock was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Altrock was one of the better pitchers in baseball for a brief period from to with the Chicago White Sox...
, who later took baseball clowning to legendary heights with Al Schacht.
Among Schaefer's legendary antics are diversionary tactics with umbrellas, raincoats and galoshes, to get games canceled on account of the weather. In one story he wears the outfit out onto the playing field, in another he wears it to the plate during a drizzle, but when the umpire sends him back to the dugout to take it off, the rains begin to pour, forcing the umpire to indeed call the game. An account of Schaefer wearing a raincoat onto the field occurs in the July 4, 1906, edition of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. It is not known whether he wore it on offense or defense.
In 1919, a little over a year after Schaefer played his last game, he died in Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake is a village located in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406. The village is named after Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac Lakes, which are nearby....
. Several of his baseball contemporaries died of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
at the sanitarium there, and that disease also claimed Schaefer. While on a scouting trip to Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
, Schaefer suffered a fatal hemorrhage complicating his pulmonary tuberculosis. He died at 9:30 AM on May 16, 1919, at age 42, according to the death certificate signed by John A. Farrell, M.D. of Saranac Lake.