WALLY SCHANG

3-Time World Series Champion Catcher

Wally Schang was born on August 22, 1889 in South Wales, NY; a small farm community about 25 miles southeast of Buffalo, NY.

One of nine surviving children of Frank & Mary Schang, as a youngster, Wally would crawl out of his bed with only one thought on his mind…baseball. Early morning chores complete, a two mile walk to school and back, baseball, was never off his mind.

Schang, at 5’10” and 180 pounds, began his 19 year major league career in 1913 as a catcher with the Philadelphia Athletics. He was an excellent hitter who posted a career .393 on base percentage, second only to Mickey Cochrane among catchers, and 78^th in major league history.

The likeable switch-hitting Schang averaged better than .300 six times, and played for three different World Series champions: the 1913 Philadelphia Athletics, 1918 Boston Red Sox, and the 1923 NY Yankees. He finished his career with a batting average of .284, 59 home runs and 710 RBI’s in 1842 games played. On September 8, 1916, Schang became the first major leaguer to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game.

Schang received votes four times for the Baseball Hall of Fame, but was never inducted. Many baseball historians believe he was unfairly overlooked, and one baseball writer penned “the only thing Wally’s career lacked is the recognition he deserved”.

Wally passed away on March 6, 1965 at the age of 75.

The biographies contained on this website were written at the time of the honoree's induction into the Hall of Fame. No attempt has been made to update these narratives to reflect more recent events, activities, or statistics.