Johnny Schaive

Johnny Schaive
Johnny Schaive
	Second baseman/Third baseman
	Born: February 25, 1934; Springfield, Illinois
	Died: May 11, 2009 (aged 75); Springfield, Illinois
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
	September 19, 1958, for the Washington Senators
Last MLB appearance
	April 19, 1963, for the Washington Senators
MLB statistics
Batting average	.232
Runs scored	25
Home runs	7
Runs batted in	32
Games played	114
Teams
	Washington Senators (original, 1958 – 1960); Washington Senators (expansion, 1962 – 1963);

John Edward Schaive (February 25, 1934 – May 11, 2009) was a backup second and third baseman who played in Major League Baseball between the 1958 and 1963 seasons. Listed at 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall and 175 pounds (79 kg), Schaive batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Springfield, Illinois.

Schaive spent 14 years in baseball as a player, manager, coach and scout. He signed with the Chicago White Sox in 1952 and started his career in their minor league system. In 1955, he led the Class D Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League) in four offensive categories. The next season, he attended spring training with the Sox' big league camp, but he had to spend two seasons in military service.

When Schaive got back to baseball, he contended he was not the player he once had been and was released by Chicago. Nevertheless, he spent five seasons in the American League, playing from 1958 through 1960 with the original Washington Senators and for the expansion franchise Washington Senators in 1962 and 1963.

In a five-season career, Schaive was a .232 hitter (75-for-323) with seven home runs and 32 RBI in 114 games, including 25 runs, 18 doubles, and one triple without stolen bases.

A .291 hitter in more than 1,100 minor league games, Schaive hit .293 on the Double-A level and .282 in five Triple-A seasons. During his long minor league career, he served as the player-manager of the expansion Senators' York White Roses farm club of the Double-A Eastern League from late May through September 1963. Schaive even did some pitching. He was 2–3 in 13 appearances as a 20-year-old for the Decatur Commodores of the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League in 1954. Then in 1963 with York, he was 2-1 in eight appearances.

Eventually injuries caught up with Schaive, who ended his career in 1966 as a player-manager for the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League.

When his playing days were over, Schaive came back to Springfield, where he helped raise his family. He coached the Springfield Caps of the Central Illinois Collegiate League in the 1970s and became the head coach when Sangamon State University (now known as University of Illinois Springfield) fielded a baseball team. Although he never officially worked as a scout for any professional organization, Schaive served as an area scout for his many friends in baseball. He also was one of the founding fathers of the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame and a charter member in 1991.

Schaive died in his hometown of Springfield at the age of 75.

External links

Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
Profile
Springfield baseball legend Schaive dies