34 Facts About Ray Schalk

Raymond William Schalk was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and scout.

Ray Schalk played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox for the majority of his career.

Ray Schalk revolutionized the way the catching position was played by using his speed and agility to expand the previously accepted defensive capabilities for his position.

Ray Schalk dropped out of high school to enter the printer's trade, learning to operate a linotype machine.

Ray Schalk made his major league debut the day before his twentieth birthday on August 11,1912.

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White Sox coach Kid Gleason helped him hone his skills and, by the following year, Ray Schalk had become the starting catcher in place of Billy Sullivan, and led the American League catchers in putouts.

Ray Schalk soon developed a reputation as one of the best defensive catchers in major league baseball.

In 1916, Ray Schalk had a career-high 30 stolen bases and led the league in fielding percentage, putouts assists and range factor as the White Sox finished in second place, only two games behind the Boston Red Sox.

Ray Schalk guided the White Sox pitching staff to the lowest earned run average in the league as they won 100 games to win the American League pennant by 9 games over the Boston Red Sox, and went on to defeat John McGraw's New York Giants in the 1917 World Series, four games to two, for their last world championship until 2005.

Ray Schalk told investigators he knew something was wrong when pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Lefty Williams didn't throw the pitches he had called for.

Years later, Ray Schalk said that the conspirators caught a break when one of the "Clean Sox, " pitcher Red Faber, was forced to sit out the Series with the flu.

Ray Schalk believed that had Faber been available, there would have never been a fix.

Ray Schalk led the American League for an eighth consecutive year in putouts as the White Sox finished in second place.

Ray Schalk led the league in putouts, and tied the American League record for fielding percentage for a catcher at.

Ray Schalk finished third in voting for the 1922 American League's Most Valuable Player Award.

Ray Schalk had played in 100 games or more in 11 consecutive seasons, but injured three fingers on his throwing hand which limited him to 57 games and a career-low.

Ray Schalk's playing time diminished in 1927, as he appeared in only 16 games while concentrating on managing the team.

Ray Schalk then had a salary disagreement with team owner Charles Comiskey, and left the White Sox to become a player-coach with the New York Giants in 1929, but appeared in only five games before retiring as a player at the age of 36.

Ray Schalk established himself as one of the American League's outstanding defensive catchers by leading AL catchers in fielding percentage eight times, putouts nine times, double plays four times and assists twice.

Ray Schalk set major league catching records for putouts, and still holds the major league career record for double plays and the American League career mark for assists.

Ray Schalk held the record for most no-hitters caught, until a rules change in the early 1990s disallowed one of them.

Ray Schalk caught 144 shutouts in his career, ranking third all-time among catchers behind Yogi Berra and Carlton Fisk.

Ray Schalk set standards for longevity for catchers, catching 100 or more games for 11 straight seasons.

Ray Schalk established himself as one of the finest baserunning catchers, setting a single-season stolen base record for the position in 1916 with 30, which stood until John Wathan stole 36 bases in 1982.

Ray Schalk helped revolutionize the way the catcher's position was played.

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Ray Schalk is credited with being the first catcher to back up infield throws to first base and outfield throws to third base.

Ray Schalk claimed to be the only major league catcher to have made a putout at every base, and once made three assists in one inning.

Ray Schalk became known for his handling of the White Sox pitching staff and his pitch-calling skills.

Ray Schalk had to catch every type of pitch imaginable, including shine balls, spitballs, knuckleballs and emory balls from pitchers such as, Ed Walsh, Eddie Cicotte, Dickie Kerr, Urban Faber and Ted Lyons.

Ray Schalk became a coach for the Chicago Cubs in 1930 and 1931, and later managed the Buffalo Bisons in the Double-A International League from 1932 to 1937.

Ray Schalk managed the Indianapolis Indians, the Oklahoma City Indians and the Milwaukee Brewers minor league teams.

Ray Schalk was an assistant baseball coach at Purdue University for 18 seasons; on the staff of luminaries such as Ward Lambert and Hank Stram.

Ray Schalk was invited to catch the first ball of the 1959 World Series–the White Sox' first appearance in the World Series in 40 years–thrown out by fellow Hall of Fame member and former White Sox pitcher Red Faber.

Ray Schalk died of cancer on May 19,1970, at the age of 78, and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Evergreen Park, Illinois.