Boss Schmidt

Charles "Boss" Schmidt (September 12, 1880 – November 14, 1932) was an American baseball catcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB)

A native of Arkansas, Schmidt played professional baseball from 1901 to 1926, including six seasons in MLB with Detroit from 1906 to 1911. He was the starting catcher on the Detroit teams that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1907 to 1909. He also led the American League in errors by a catcher in each of those seasons. Schmidt had a reputation for toughness enhanced by his grotesque-looking hands, the result of work as a coal miner and prizefighter.

Following his MLB career, Schmidt played Minor League Baseball for another 15 seasons. He then coached and managed ballclubs before dying suddenly of an intestinal obstruction in 1932.

Schmidt was born on September 12, 1880, in London, Arkansas. His parents were immigrants from Germany. As a young man, Schmidt worked in the local coal mines, "cutting, shoveling, and pushing carts of coal".

Schmidt began his baseball career with a semipro baseball team in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In 1901, he joined the Little Rock Travelers of the Southern Association. Duke Finn, his manager at Little Rock, thought Schmidt showed good baseball judgment during games. Schmidt then played for the Springfield Reds of the Missouri Valley League (1902–1904), the Rock Island Islanders of the Three-I League (1903), and the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association (1904–1905).

In late August 1905, the Minneapolis Millers sold Schmidt, Davy Jones, and Ed Siever to the Detroit Tigers. Schmidt was initially a holdout from the Tigers' 1906 training camp, but he finally reported on March 21. During the 1906 season, Schmidt shared catching duties with John Warner and Fred Payne. He appeared in 68 games, 64 of which were as the team's starting catcher. Schmidt compiled a .218 batting average, not a great figure, but manager Bill Armour told him to concentrate on defense and handling the pitchers on the roster. Despite appearing in less than half the team's games, Schmidt ranked among the American League's best defensive catchers with 106 assists (fourth in the American League), 72 players caught stealing (fifth in the American League), and a 50.7 percent rate of catching runners attempting to steal (fourth in the American League).

In 1907, Schmidt appeared in 104 games, 96 as the Tigers' starting catcher, and compiled a .244 batting average with six triples and eight stolen bases. Defensively, he led the American League's catchers with 14 double plays turned, but also led the league with 34 errors at catcher and ranked second with 16 passed balls.

The Tigers won the American League pennant and lost to the Chicago Cubs in the 1907 World Series. Schmidt hit .167 (two singles in 12 at bats) in the World Series, and his multiple defensive lapses in Game 1 were particularly costly. The Cubs stole six bases on Schmidt during the first game. Schmidt's poor throw to second base in the fourth inning failed to catch Frank Chance who was heading down the line when the batter swung and missed. An accurate throw would have ended the inning; instead, Chance eventually scored on a base hit. The Tigers led in the ninth inning with two outs and Chicago's Harry Steinfeldt on third base; Chicago pinch hitter Del Howard swung on a third strike that should have ended the game, but "Schmidt missed the ball, which got by him to the crowd." His passed ball allowed Steinfeldt to score the tying run in a contest that ended tied after 12 innings. After the game, Joe S. Jackson of the Detroit Free Press wrote: "The surprise of the game was the poor work of Charlie Schmidt, who had an off day such as probably will not come to him again in the series. He found it almost impossible to locate second sack, and only once, in a half dozen tries, did he manage to put the ball where the infielder could get it on the runner." Schmidt also caught Games 3 and 4, allowing two stolen bases in each game. He made one other appearance in the series, pinch-hitting in the ninth inning of Game 5.