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Albert 'Red' Schoendienst Dies at Age 95; Was Oldest Living Hall of Fame Member
June 7, 2018
The St. Louis Cardinals and the baseball world are in mourning after Albert "Red" Schoendienst died at the age of 95 on Wednesday.
The Cardinals passed along the sad news:
The Schoendienst family issued a statement, via MLB.com:
"Red Schoendienst has passed away today surrounded by his family. He had a life full of happiness for 95 years. He inspired all that knew him to always do their best. Red was a great ball player, but his legacy is that of a great gentleman who had respect for all. He loved his family, friends, teammates, the community and his country. He will be greatly missed."
The news was announced at Busch Stadium during Wednesday night's game between the Cardinals and the Miami Marlins, prompting the crowd to pay its respect:
The official Twitter account for Stan Musial, who died in 2013 as one of Schoendienst's closest former teammates, was among those to honor Red (Musial wore No. 6 and Schoendienst No. 2):
Schoendienst played 19 seasons (1945-1963) in the big leagues. He spent the first 11-plus seasons of his career in St. Louis before moving on to the New York Giants and then the Milwaukee Braves. After a four-plus-year absence, he returned to the Cardinals for the final three years of his career.
Red was a career .289/.337/.387 hitter with 84 home runs, 427 doubles, 78 triples, 89 stolen bases and 773 RBI. While he played a total of five positions, he spent the majority of his career at second base.
He made the All-Star team 10 times in his career, including eight straight nods from 1948 to 1955. He also had three different stints as Cardinals manager (1965-76, 1980, 1990). His No. 2 is retired in St. Louis, and he is a part of the team's Hall of Fame. He was a five-time World Series champion.
Schoendienst was inducted into Cooperstown by the Veterans Committee in 1989. According to the Associated Press, he was the oldest living member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.