Books and articles about Johnny Schmitz

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Bear Tracks (inspired by his shuffle to the mound) was an underrated lefty who spent most of his career with weak teams. After returning to the Cubs from the service in 1946, he led the NL in strikeouts and was named to the All-Star team. He led the league in losses (18) the next year but reversed his record to 18-13 (2.64) in 1948, despite the Cubs' last-place finish. Again he made the All-Star team. A noted Dodger-killer (he won 18 lifetime against Brooklyn), he was traded to the Dodgers in 1951 as part of the deal that also put Andy Pafko in a Brooklyn uniform. A variety of arm and shoulder ailments confined him to spot duty after that, with his high point an 11-8 season for the sixth-place 1954 Senators. (ARA)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » September 10, 1941: Johnny Schmitz makes his ML debut and notches a victory by throwing only one pitch in the 9th inning of the Cubs 5-4 victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers. » August 1, 1942: The Dodgers (71-29) top Johnny Schmitz of the Cubs, 9–6, to stretch their lead to nine games over St. Louis. » April 20, 1947: At St. Louis, Bill Nicholson clubs two homers, including a slam, and drives in six runs to lead the Cubs, 7–4, over the Cards. Swish's first RBI comes in the first inning when he's hit by a Howie Pollet pitch with the bases loaded. His slam in the 5th finishes Pollet's pitching. Johnny Schmitz is the winner. » April 27, 1947: The cellar-dwelling Cards drop their 5th straight losing the Cubs, 3–0. The Redbirds manage just four hits off Johnny Schmitz. » May 18, 1947: At Chicago, the Dodgers and Jackie Robinson attract a crowd of 46,572—still a single game paid attendance record at Wrigley. Brooklyn scores after 18 shutout innings and beats the Cubs, 4–2, extending the Cubs' losses to five straight. Robinson goes 0-for-4 to stop his hitting streak at 14 games: he'll start a 21-game streak on June 14. Joe Hatten is the winner while Cubs starter and loser Johnny Schmitz walks eight and strikes out nine before relief comes in. » August 8, 1947: At Wrigley Field, Bill Nicholson breaks up a pitching duel between Johnny Schmitz and Ewell Blackwell with an 11th inning solo homer. The Cubs whip the Reds, 2–1. Nicholson also scores the Cubs first run, an unearned tally. Chicago helps Schmitz out with a 7th inning triple play when Len Merullo snags a liner, steps on 2B, and fires to Eddie Waitkus. » May 18, 1948: The lowly Cubs edge the Phillies, 3–2, as Johnny Schmitz outduels young Curt Simmons. Four Phillie errors let in all three Cub runs. » May 21, 1948: At the Polo Grounds, the Giants drop an 8–3 decision to the Cubs. New York rookie Les Layton, in his first ML at bat, hits a pinch homer in the 9th off Johnny Schmitz. » May 26, 1948: Johnny Schmitz wins his 4th in a row as the Cubs beat Brooklyn, 4–1. Gil Hodges hits a homer for the Dodgers. » May 30, 1948: The Reds beat the Cubs and Johnny Schmitz, 6–1, as Grady Hatton's grand slam in the 8th accounts for the first score for Cincy. The Reds take game 2, 8–3. » July 5, 1948: The Cards Gerry Staley picks up a pair of wins in relief over the Cubs, winning 6–3 and 5–2 over Ralph Hamner and Johnny Schmitz. Staley pitches two innings in the opener and two 2/3 innings in the nitecap. It is the 2nd time in three weeks that the Cubs have lost a doubleheader to a single reliever. » July 18, 1948: In the first of two before 39,623, the Chicago Cubs beat the visiting Philadelphia Phillies 3–2. With two outs and the bases loaded in the 9th inning, rookie Robin Roberts hits Phil Cavarretta and Andy Pafko on the back with successive pitches to force home the winner. Chicago's Johnny Schmitz allows just four hits, three by Johnny Blatnik. The Jays (as they are still occasionally referred to in print) win the nitecap, 6–4, collecting 17 hits, including a homer by Del Ennis. Schoolboy Rowe evens his record at 5–5, beating Russ Meyer. » August 11, 1948: At Brooklyn, Chicago's Johnny Schmitz goes 11 innings to beat the Dodgers, 4–2. Schmitz scores the winning run, coming home on an Eddie Waitkus double. » August 27, 1948: Johnny Schmitz leads the Cubs to a 1–0 win over the first-place Braves at Wrigley Field. Schmitz allows just six hits, including two triples, but doubles and scores the games only run in the bottom of the 9th. Johnny Sain takes the loss. » April 30, 1950: At St. Louis, the Cards Del Rice belts a home run in the bottom of the 13th to break up a pitching duel between the Cubs Johnny Schmitz and Harry Brecheen. The Cards win, 1–0. Rice also has a double as Schmitz gives up just four hits and retires 20 batters in a row. » May 18, 1950: At the Polo Grounds, Rube Walker poles a grand slam in the 6th inning for the Cubs. In the bottom of the inning, Monte Irvin hits a grand slam for the Giants, the first time in history that each team has slammed in the same inning. The game is called on account of rain after six innings, and the Giants win, 10–4, behind Clint Hartung. Johnny Schmitz, the first of four pitchers, is the loser. » May 2, 1951: Before 4,976 at the Polo Grounds, the Giants score six runs in the 7th to defeat the Cubs, 8–1. George Spencer, who won the final game of the 1950 season, makes his 1951 debut a successful one, allowing six hits. Johnny Schmitz takes the loss for Chicago. Ray Noble has two ribbies for New York. Noble is playing for Wes Westrum, who broke his finger yesterday when he was hit by a foul tip. » June 15, 1951: Just before game time at Wrigley Field, the Cubs and Dodgers make a 4-for-4 trade: OF Andy Pafko, P Johnny Schmitz, C Rube Walker, and IF Wayne Terwilliger go to Brooklyn for C Bruce Edwards, OF Gene Hermanski, IF Eddie Miksis, and P Joe Hatten. To the surprise of fans, the 8 appear in their new uniforms. The Cubs get the best today as Bruce Edward knocks in 4 runs, three on a homer, off Carl Erskine, and Miksis fields well. Pafko hits his 13th homer in a losing cause and will incur an injury in this series that will sideline for three weeks in July. But the New York Post expresses the sentiment of most, calling it "the most barefaced swindle in years." » June 17, 1951: In Boston, the Dodgers win the first of two, 3–1, behind Carl Erskine's 2-hitter. Gil Hodges hits his 34th homer in support. The Braves jump on Johnny Schmitz for three runs in the first inning and take the nitecap, 4–3. Jackie Robinson leaves 13 baserunners in the two games. » November 8, 1955: The Senators trade stalwarts Mickey Vernon, Bob Porterfield, Johnny Schmitz and Tom Umphlett to the Red Sox for five young players: P Dick Brodowski, P Truman Clevenger, P Al Curtis, and outfielders Neil Chrisley and Karl Olson.