Hall of Famer Ray Schalk was one of the premier catchers of his day. He caught a
ML-record four no-hitters in his career, including two in May 1914 and
Charlie Robertson's
perfect game April 30, 1922. He handled perennially strong pitching staffs, including
the 1920 White Sox rotation that boasted four 20-game winners. The 5'9" 165-lb workhorse
caught 100 or more games in 12 seasons (1913-23, '25) and led AL catchers eight times
in fielding, eight times in putouts (eight straight years, 1913-20), four times in
double plays, and twice in assists. His .989 fielding average in 1922 tied the AL
record at the time. He set ML catching records for career games and putouts, and
still holds the ML career record for double plays and the AL career mark for assists.
An important innovator, he is credited with being the first catcher to back up plays
at first and third base. A powerless, merely adequate batter, he set a record for
catchers by stealing 30 bases in 1916. He hit for the cycle on June 27, 1922. His
best batting came in the 1919
World Series, when he hit .304 as eight of his teammates
threw the Series to gamblers; he could tell what was happening, and almost came to
blows with pitcher
Lefty Williams.
(JFC)
Ray Schalk
teams 