Hal Schumacher - the Prince of the New York Giants: And the Pride of Dolgeville

By Roger Glen Melin

Hal Schumacher, or Prince Hal as he was commonly referred to by the scribes of the day, played with the New York Giants during some of their very best years, and played along side some of the best players the game has known - Mel Ott, Bill Terry, and his pitching partner Carl Hubbell to name but a few, all of whom are in the baseball Hall of Fame. Although Hal was proud of his accomplishments as a pitcher, he kept that pride to himself. And although willing to give interviews to baseball writers of the day, he tended to keep them short and rarely placed himself on the same pedestals that other players did. The New York Giants of the 1930s played in 3 World Series contests: 1933, 1936, and 1937, the latter two against the great Yankees teams of the day, and Schumacher was an integral part of those series. He also was chosen to play in the very first All Star game in 1933. His newspaper nickname of Prince Hal was chosen as the perfect complement to King Carl Hubbell, one of the greatest pitchers of the time, and a teammate of Schumacher during most of his playing days. Many have referred to them as one of the best righty-lefty combination to have ever taken the mound during their peak years.

This biography of Hal Schumacher takes us year by year through the life of Prince Hal, gives us a history both before and following his playing days, and is most valuable to the reader because it gives us some insight into a quality baseball pitcher and a quality human being.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: May 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781466984998

Roger Glen Melin

Roger Melin was born and raised outside of Boston, Mass. Since he was old enough to turn on the radio and listen to the Red Sox, he has been a fan of baseball. Over the years, that passion has found its way to a specialized niche of the game - baseball biographies. Even more specifically, biographies of players from a bygone era. Mr. Melin has read many such biographies, and has found that the teams from the 1930s have interested him the most. Having friends and acquaintances not far from his current residence, he has done considerable research on the subject of this book, working with town historians, libraries, and people who knew Hal Schumacher and his effect on their lives on a personal level.

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© Copyright 2015 Roger Glen Melin.

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978-1-4669-8498-1 (sc)

ISBN:

978-1-4669-8500-1 (hc)

ISBN:

978-1-4669-8499-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015905969

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CONTENTS

Introduction

Acknowledgements

Prologue

1 Background – The Early Years

2 St. Lawrence University, part 1: 1928-1930

3 St. Lawrence University, part 2: Joining the Giants, 1931

4 Work, Education, and More Work: 1932

5 Coming Into His Own: Early 1933

6 Graduation Day: June 12, 1933

7 The Year That Had It All: 1933

8 The World’s Series: 1933

9 A Year for the Record Books: 1934

10 A Word About Nicknames

11 Baseball’s Second Death: 1935

12 1936: Twice Gold Attained, and Once Gold Eluded

13 How to Get To the World Series: 1937

14 A Downturn Preceding Surgery: 1938

15 Tough Times on the Mound: 1939

16 How the Prince Went About His Work

17 Changes in the Works: 1940

18 More Changes, Appreciation: 1941

19 A year of Change and Preparation: 1942

20 Commissioned In the Navy, the War Years: 1943-1945

21 Return To the Slab: 1946

22 Return to Dolgeville; Adirondack Bats; Little League

23 Cooperstown at Last

24 Notes, Achievements, and Numbers

References

Images

INTRODUCTION

HAL SCHUMACHER WAS A PITCHER for the New York Giants from 1931 until 1942, and again in 1946, following a 3-year stint as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He played along side some of the greatest players the game has known; men like Mel Ott, Bill Terry, and Carl Hubbell to name but the best known few, all 3 being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He pitched in 3 sets of World Series contests; 1933, 1936, and 1937. He was selected to two all-star teams, including the very first such game ever played, in 1933. He and Carl Hubbell were considered the best righty-lefty starting pitcher combination in the major leagues during their best years together, and remain to this day considered among the best in baseball history.

Some excellent books have been written about the Giants of the 1930’s. This book, however, will attempt to bring to the surface some pieces of the life of one man who has often been overlooked as an integral part of those Giants teams, and yet he was that, and much more. Rather than simply capturing the activities of a man who pitched for a world champion baseball team, this will be an attempt to portray the life of one man whose determination, honesty, humility, devotion, and integrity were a constant in virtually every action of his life.

To take those attributes one level higher, Hal Schumacher was at all times an achiever. As admirable as it is to set out to accomplish great things from an early age, it is quite another to achieve them, and particularly challenging to do so consistently. The record shows that Hal Schumacher was an exceptional amateur and professional baseball player. But his accomplishments didn’t stop when his playing days were over. His life from start to finish was filled with achievements. Yet for all his accomplishments, although he was proud of his days as a ball player, he never ‘tooted his own horn’, although had he done so he may have become more of a legend. The players of his day whose names have become legendary are those who, for one reason or another chose to bring their accomplishments to attention. Names such as Dizzy Dean, Babe Ruth, and Ty Cobb who were exceptionally talented at their crafts are immediately recognizable in the average household to this day. But mention Hal Schumacher and the head begins to shake with non-recognition, simply because he silently and humbly went about his work with his natural ability coupled with a lot of grit and determination. Like millions of others, Hal Schumacher was simply a dedicated, intelligent, and gifted man from a first generation American immigrant family. The only role models he needed as he was growing up were a hard working father and an older brother who was a pretty fine ballplayer in his own right.

Role models have become a thing of the past. Today, heroes are measured by the amount of money they earn, their appearances on television and the products they endorse. Athletes are coddled to an extreme now, but it is pretty well known that it has not always been that way.

With the advent of the internet and the immediate availability of a plethora of information and data now, box scores of many games can be scrutinized with a few strokes of a computer keyboard. This is currently the case of Schumacher’s playing years, although at the time of this writing most play-by-play accounts are not included. Therefore it should come as no surprise that the use of these box scores are used throughout this biography, and few, if any, are omitted as we traverse the life of Hal Schumacher. Some readers may find this unnecessary. So be it. But those games were not unnecessary to the people involved, particularly Schumacher and his teammates, friends, and family, and each game, each appearance on the diamond contributed in one form or another to the completeness of the life of the subject of this book. And so every game in which Hal appeared has been included here.

This is the life of Harold Henry Schumacher: athlete, family man, business executive, and achiever.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

THIS PROJECT WOULD NOT HAVE been culminated without the assistance of the many folks who have provided help and guidance along the way. The people of Dolgeville New York, in particular the Dolgeville/Manheim Historical Society are first and foremost to be acknowledged. Likewise the staff at the Little Falls Public Library in Little Falls, New York has been most gracious, willing, and cooperative. The Little Falls Public Library should be a model for all such institutions nationwide. In no particular order, I would also like to thank: Jane Schubbe, Dolgeville historian who has been consistently most gracious in her knowledge and willingness to assist; Hal’s daughter Mary Jablonski; Marie Kiesel who provided much of the impetus during the process; Janet Kiesel for her inspiration and her spirit; the folks at SABR (the Society for American Baseball Research); likewise the magnificent people who construct and maintain the websites retrosheet.org, and baseball-reference.com, and Alison H. Hicks for her editorial assistance. Susan Perkins for her research assistance. The vast majority of information not otherwise acknowledged was derived from The Little Falls Evening Times newspaper, for which the author is deeply indebted.

Edited by Alison H. Hicks, 2015.

PROLOGUE

THE DATE WAS SET FOR June 12, 1933. During the week leading up to that date, the village of Canton, New York (population about 2,500 at the time) was abuzz in anticipation of the upcoming 71st annual commencement ceremony at St. Lawrence University (SLU). Scheduled to receive honorary degrees at SLU on that day were Ogden Livingston Mills, former Congressman and Secretary of the Treasury under Herbert Hoover, and Edwin Markham, the popular American poet, lecturer and author of The Man With a Hoe, which was considered the battle cry of a thousand years by many and translated into dozens of languages around the world. Diplomas for the 118 graduates were to be handed out by the president of the University Corporation Board of Trustees, Owen D. Young, who was also chairman of the board of General Electric and a graduate of St. Lawrence University class of 1894. Others to receive degrees at this time were Rev. Clarence R. Skinner, dean of the school of religion of Tufts College in Boston, and Rev. Isaac Z. Lobdell of Attleboro, Massachusetts. Similar ceremonies had been held at the University every year over the decades since its founding, but this year, 1933, there was a peculiar excitement on the campus and in the Canton area, moreso than in past years.

Usually expecting a few hundred to attend commencement ceremonies, University officials found themselves bustling about all week trying to rustle up benches, chairs, tents, anything they could find to assist in accommodating the crowd this year, anticipated to be as many as 10,000. Workers were pounding nails, cutting wood, painting, mowing, setting up tents, and generally making extra preparation for this occasion. Local residents and businesses were offering whatever they could, even to the extent of opening up their homes to provide visitors a place to stay, as they recognized this as a unique event in the history of Canton. It was obvious that there was something special about the 1933 commencement ceremonies at SLU, and there likely were not too many folks in the northern and middle reaches of New York state who were unaware of what was about to happen.

The village of Canton rests in St. Lawrence County in the north western section of New York State, less than 20 miles from the Canadian border and the St. Lawrence River to which it is linked by the Grass River, and Canton is over 250 miles in the opposite direction from the metropolis of New York City. St. Lawrence University, founded in 1856, lies on the eastern edge of Canton. Among the noted visitors to Canton over the years prior to 1933 were President Teddy Roosevelt and Mme. Marie Curie, but some of the visitors that the village hoped to see on June 12, 1933 would be quite different in nature.

The graduation ceremony was scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Gunnison Memorial Chapel that Monday, a bit earlier than in past years, and would be broadcast on radio via national hookup while Pathé News cameras were to record it all on film. This was going to be a graduation ceremony to be recalled and preserved for posterity. The Chapel would be filled, not only with the graduates, their families and friends, and SLU alumni, but with news media, film crews, newspaper reporters, and other ‘celebrities’ of the day. Special loud speakers were hooked up outside the chapel so that the 400 or so who couldn’t get inside the Chapel for the ceremony would at least be able to listen to its broadcast.

Following commencement would be the usual picture taking, the milling around and typical congratulatory handshakes and hugs, the showing off of sheepskin so diligently earned by the graduates, and general chit-chat among all present for the occasion. On this day in 1933 however, some of the chatter would have to wait until later in the day, as there was a baseball game scheduled at Weeks Field on the campus of SLU early that afternoon. A baseball game on graduation day? Would that be the reason for the village shops closing early; for the special buttons that the townspeople were wearing for the occasion; for the special programs that had been printed; for all the pictures and signs posted about village solely for this 1933 occasion, and for the anticipated crowd of 10,000?

Yes, a baseball game. But this would be like no other baseball game ever played at SLU nor anywhere else. This would be the first time in history that an active major league baseball player would receive a college degree, and this would be the first time that a major league baseball team would honor a fellow teammate by attending his graduation ceremony. And as if that weren’t enough, this team was going to play an exhibition game against the University team in the middle of the regular season. As a matter of fact, the major league team, the New York Giants, would have just played a game the day before at the Polo Grounds in New York City against the Philadelphia Phillies, and were scheduled to play another on the following day back in New York against the Boston Braves. Almost halfway through the baseball season, the Giants were in the thick of a pennant race, yet they chose to make a 250-mile trip by train to Canton on their day off out of respect to one of their teammates. The players to make the trip that day were among the very best in the game. Although they did not know it at the time, this team would surprise the baseball world and become the World Series champions just a few months later. But on Monday, June 12, they chose to spend their off day travelling by train to the small village of Canton, attending graduation ceremonies of one of their teammates, playing a full 9-inning exhibition game against a University team, and afterward taking the long train ride back to New York City to face the next day’s challenge.

The folks from Canton and surrounding communities came to see it all. The country was in the midst of a depression, and a little relief from the associated stresses would be a welcome diversion. After all, it was summer, and a little fun was in order for the hard-working people of upstate New York. Concerns of an estimated 10,000 people weighed heavily upon the hearts and minds of the townsfolk of Canton that day. They came from as far away as Montreal, New York City, Ottawa, and cities, towns and villages scattered throughout northern and north central New York State just for the chance to see their heroes of the baseball diamond. Each probably had his or her own favorite player. For many it was Mel Ott; for others it was Bill Terry, Carl Hubbell, Freddie Lindstrom, Blondy Ryan, or Travis Jackson. Word travels fast in small towns, and although there was just over a week to prepare for the event, everybody knew who was going to be celebrated that day. They knew why their favorite baseball players had made the long journey. And they knew that they just might be in a position to witness a bit of history in the making. Not the kind of history that changes the course of a nation, but history of a more intimate nature; one that the common man or woman can relate to their children and grandchildren; one that will be the food for talk at the local pubs and restaurants for years to come; one that will be talked about in Montreal, Ottawa, and New York City for many months and years into the future; one that will be written about time and again into the next millennium and perhaps beyond.

The New York Giants baseball club, the publicists, the newspaper scribes, the broadcasters, the fans from all around the state of New York and beyond came to see a young 22-year old student receive a Bachelor of Science degree in the midst of the worst economic depression the country had ever faced. The student they came to see put on his cap and gown that day would become an achiever in virtually every sense of the word. He came from a small village about 100 miles south of Canton (as the crow flies) called Dolgeville, he was already an established starting pitcher for the New York Giants, and his name was Harold Schumacher.

~ 1 ~

Background – The Early Years

HAROLD HENRY SCHUMACHER (SHOO’-MAHCKER) WAS born on Nov. 23, 1910 in Hinckley, New York. Hinckley, in the town of Russia in an area locally known as Northwood, rests in upstate New York, on the southern edge of the Adirondack Mountains, about 20 miles north of Utica. Harold was the youngest of 9 children born to Andrew (Andreas) and Margaret (Magdalena) (nee Anstett) Schumacher, and only the third in the family born in the United States. Andrew, born on Dec. 20, 1864 in Rheinpflatz, Germany to Andrew and Elizabeth Alfried Schumacher, had emigrated in his brother Nicholas’ footsteps to Hinckley, New York only 7 years before Harold was born, arriving in New York City aboard the SS Finland on Oct. 8, 1903. Andrew and Margaret were married in 1888 in Germany, after Andrew had served three years as a cavalry officer in the German army.

Margaret and their first six children followed him later, arriving in New York City aboard the SS Kroomland on June 20, 1905. The family lived with Nicholas’ family for a few years where Andrew took up farming, but the drinking water in Hinckley was suspected to be the source of an outbreak of typhoid fever which was affecting the Schumacher children in Hinckley, and therefore in 1908 Andrew relocated to the village of Dolgeville New York, about 25 miles east of Hinckley and also nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks, while the rest of the family remained in Hinckley, joining him about 4 years later in 1912.

Andrew procured a job as a laster at the thriving Daniel Green slipper manufacturing company in Dolgeville, and he secured himself and his family a cozy home first on Schuyler Street, and later at 44 Van Buren Street atop a small hill on the banks of the East Canada Creek. Andrew and Margaret’s oldest son Joseph, who was born on Nov. 10, 1889 in Germany, was already a young adult of 21 by the time Harold came into the household in 1910. The remaining children of the family were: Christian born July 4, 1892 in Germany, Katherine born Dec. 17, 1893 in Germany, Herman born Jan. 21 1896 in Germany, Johanna Barbara born Dec. 4 1898 in Germany, Adolf Andrew born Dec. 27 1902 in Germany, Lena born Apr. 28 1906 in Hinckley NY, and Helena Franziska born June 26 1908 in Hinckley NY. Our subject, Harold Henry became the youngest child to round out this hard-working, devoutly Catholic family.

Dolgeville (pronounced DAWLJ-ville, like DODGE-ville with an ‘L’ inserted where it does not seem to belong) had been known as Green’s Bridge, and in 1826 became known as Brockett’s Bridge, until December of 1881, when the townspeople unanimously petitioned to incorporate, and chose to rename their village in honor of Alfred Dolge who had been largely (and almost solely) responsible for the growth of the village from a population of about 300 in 1874 to about 1,500 in 1881, and later to about 3,000 by 1895. During that time, the village had erected a felt mill, a saw mill, an iron suspension bridge over the creek that the Native Americans had called the Tegahuhharoghwe (the stream of many fishes), and a very successful felt shoe and slipper manufacturing company called the Daniel Green Company. By 1888 Dolgeville was publishing its own newspaper, the Dolgeville Herald.

Andrew Schumacher was surely lured to Dolgeville at least in part by the prospect of employment at the Daniel Green Company. He was by trade a shoe laster, who stitched the upper cutout to the insole of the footwear, the upper generally stretched onto a ‘last’ and its edges pulled over the insole. The Daniel Green Company had become the first felt shoe and slipper factory in the United States, and was doing a thriving business which would continue for several generations.

Herman, the third son and fourth child of Andrew and Margaret, loved to play baseball in his free time, and showed early promise on the ball fields as a youngster growing up in Dolgeville. The townspeople spoke of how he was able to smack the ball with force almost anywhere he pleased and throw the ball harder than anyone they’d seen before, and while still in his teens his father was proudly calling him the next Ty Cobb. His hitting and fielding accomplishments became somewhat legendary in the area as he played for the local teams as often as he could, and Andrew had visions of his son becoming a professional ball player when he became of age.

Once out of school, Herman continued to play ball for the town teams and, like his father, worked at the Daniel Green Company. He continued to hone his baseball skills and hoped that the ‘right’ people would notice him. According to newspaper accounts, he "peppered the ball and made diving catches of line drives hit his way".

As the country entered World War I in 1917, 21-year old Herman enlisted in the U.S. Army to do his part in the war effort just like so many other young men of the time. In the summer of 1918 while stationed in France, injuries suffered in battle were to shatter the dreams of Andrew and of the village of Dolgeville. Although the War Department had reported his having recovered from his injuries as late as July 12th of that year, it was later learned that on July 7th, Herman Schumacher died in the French village of Coulomme.

A young Harold, only 7 years old at the time, probably saw and felt the pain of his father following the death of his older brother Herman. One might even envision the youngster, in an attempt to ease the family pain as best he could, promise his father that he would be the next Ty Cobb if his older brother could not. The outpouring of sympathy from the folks in Dolgeville was overwhelming, and shortly after the end of the war, the village named the local VFW lodge in honor of their fallen hero. It is so named to this day. Later, the village park was also named after Herman Schumacher, the first and only soldier from Dolgeville to lose his life during the ‘war to end all wars’. And like the VFW post, the village park is so named to this day.

Like his older brother, Harold was also to show an early interest and ability in the game of baseball. As a youngster, he was able to hit the ball well, although not with the consistency that his older brother once displayed. But perhaps even more importantly, he was to discover that he had a natural ability to throw a baseball with velocity and accuracy. His early teammates, coaches, and opponents remarked how his throws had a tendency to drop sharply on their way to the plate when he threw it just so. A regular shortstop in school games, his throws to first base and home plate drew attention and it was soon suggested that he try out his shotgun arm from the pitcher’s mound.

One day in High School, although Harold was the regular shortstop for the High School team, the pitcher who was scheduled to pitch took sick, and Bob Daley, the High School coach, decided to see if young Harold could fill the role. The only pitch that the young lad was familiar with was the fastball, and although history has lost the specifics of what occurred that day, it can be said that Harold was the team’s pitcher thereafter.

Harold would later state in an interview, that his elder brother was a better pitcher than I ever hope to be. Only time would determine if that was to be the true fate of the brothers.

image001.jpg

1924 - Harold Schumacher, middle row, second from right

In early May 1925, although only 14 years old and not even in High School yet, young Harold was selected to be the starting pitcher in the first 4 games of the season for the High School team and batted in the lead-off position. (He was also scheduled to start the next game on May 22nd, but had injured his ankle in practice. Dolgeville High lost that game, 19 to 13.) By special arrangement, and because of his recognized ability, he was allowed to play for the High School team a year early on the stipulation that he would only be able to play for the team for 4 years. Although younger by 3 or 4 years than most of the other players on the High School team, Harold was considered their ‘ace’ starting pitcher. On May 13th, he pitched 9 innings against nearby Fort Plain, beating them 9 to 2, striking out 6 and walking 3, and went 1 for 5 at the plate. Throughout early 1925, as a 14-year old, Harold consistently struck out 5-7 opposing High School batters per game. During the summer months of 1925 he also began working at the Daniel Green Company. Andrew had taught his youngest son the importance of saving what money he could, and that is exactly what young Harold would do.

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1926-27 -DHS Basketball team,

Harold Schumacher front row, far left

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1926-27 - DHS football team, Harold Schumacher middle row, 3rd from left

When the spring of 1928 rolled around, Harold, although now a senior in High School, was ineligible to play baseball on the High School team, because his 4 years had been played out. So Harold was invited to play for the town ball club, sponsored by and named the Spofford Hose Company. And so it was that on June 17 of that year, ten days before graduating from High School and the youngest player on the team, Harold pitched in a town game against neighboring St. Johnsville and struck out an amazing 22 batters in a 3-1, 9-inning victory. The 22 strikeouts he registered that day became a new record for the team, surpassing the previous record of 20 set a short time earlier by none other than Harold Schumacher himself. Newspaper accounts recorded that in a 2-inning stretch he had pitched 18 consecutive strikes. One can do the math. A no-hitter eluded him this day however, as the St. Johnsville Independents team managed a single hit off him, and the run scored due to Dolgeville fielding errors.

Granted, this was a town team he pitched against, not exactly the Major Leagues, but Harold was a 17-year old High School student playing against a bunch of adult men. And incidentally, in this same game Harold clouted a home run that observers claimed was the longest they had ever seen hit at Hilltop Park. He also smacked a double. The opposing hitters must have been shaking their heads after each turn at bat in amazement that a teenager as young as this could throw with such velocity and movement on the ball to where they were utterly baffled.

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Eyebrows had been raised. Word was getting around. The name started to become well-known. He was the younger brother of Herman Schumacher, and the youngster’s accomplishments became a topic of conversation. Local talk would turn to expectations of his next appearance in a game. Crowds would gather in large numbers whenever it was his turn to pitch, and he pitched often for his team. Neighboring towns wanted this youngster to play for their semi-pro teams, and several nearby cities vied for his services, including the cities of Little Falls and Amsterdam in the Mohawk Valley League. There were also 3 major newspaper press leagues in upstate New York at the time; the Syracuse Post Standard League, the Albany Knickerbocker Press League, and the Utica Daily Press League. They all wanted this young pitcher to play for them. Most likely after conferring with family, Harold decided that he would play for the Little Falls team, and on June 21st of 1928, Harold signed on with manager Charlie Fitzgerald of Little Falls of the Utica Press Suburban League to play semi-pro ball. He had not yet graduated from High School.

This time however, his team would have to wait until after High School graduation before taking advantage of his services, because league rules stipulated that a player’s name must be registered with league officials at least one week before he is eligible to play, and Harold’s graduation was to take place on June 27th, only 6 days away. On Monday, June 25th, manager Fitzgerald announced his plans to start Schumacher in their July 1st matchup against the Gloversville team, considered the strongest team in the league. But Harold would not be pitching in that game. Fitzgerald had gotten himself in one of those enviable positions where he