Arthur Philip Schacht was Karen’s grandfather, and he played minor league baseball for eight seasons in D – A leagues, and played in independent leagues for two seasons. He started his first season as a pitcher and then alternated at 2B, SS, and 3B throughout his career. He boasted a career batting average of .289 with a slugging percentage of .385. His career fielding percentage was .940, with one season at a perfect 1.000 at 3B and two at .985 at 2B.

Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 5′ 5″, Weight: 155 lb.

Born: September 6, 1906 in St. Louis, Missouri, US
Died: February 8, 2000 in Alvin, Texas, US (Aged 93)

Minors Batting

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	HBP	SH
1926	19	Bradenton	FLOR	D		11		13		1	0	0	0				.077		.077		1
1927	20	Houston	TL	A	STL	13		36		6	0	0	0				.167		.167		6
1928	21	2 Teams	2 Lgs	D		87	393	349	52	104	23	7	1	9	31	34	.298	.357	.413	.770	144	1	12
1928	21	Waynesboro	BLRI	D		51	230	201	34	66	14	3	1	8	21	23	.328	.395	.443	.837	89	1	7
1928	21	Laurel	CSTL	D		36	163	148	18	38	9	4	0	1	10	11	.257	.304	.372	.675	55	0	5
1929	22	3 Teams	3 Lgs	A-D		81		279		81	13	3	1				.290		.369		103
1929	22	Meridian/ Lake Charles	CSTL	D		27		87		24	3	0	0				.276		.310		27
1929	22	Waynesboro	BLRI	D		24		85		27	5	3	0				.318		.447		38
1929	22	San Antonio	TL	A		30		107		30	5	0	1				.280		.355		38
1930	23	Charlotte, Augusta	SALL	B		133		509		149	25	8	5				.293		.403		205
1931	24	2 Teams	2 Lgs	D-A		78		241		71	13	2	0				.295		.365		88
1931	24	Baton Rouge	CSTL	D		47		174		49	9	1	0				.282		.345		60
1931	24	St. Joseph	WL	A		31		67		22	4	1	0				.328		.418		28
1932	25	Wilmington, Durham	PIED	B	BOS	52		217		66	7	5	2				.304		.410		89
1935	28	Longview	WDXL	C	CHW	116		424		120	24	2	4				.283		.377		160
8 Seasons						571	2112	2068	52	598	105	27	13	9	31	34	.289	.300	.385	.685	796	1	12
D (4 seasons)				D		196	752	708	52	205	40	11	1	9	31	34	.290	.320	.381	.702	270	1	12
A (3 seasons)				A		74	210	210		58	9	1	1				.276	.276	.343	.619	72
B (2 seasons)				B		185	726	726		215	32	13	7				.296	.296	.405	.701	294
C (1 season)				C		116	424	424		120	24	2	4				.283	.283	.377	.660	160

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/26/2011.

Minors Pitching

Minors Fielding

Teams Played For

The United States was struggling to recuperate from a near-economic collapse sparked by the stock market crash nearly five years earlier. An uneasy feeling was overtaking political observers in Europe as they watched Germany’s new chancellor preside over the funeral of national hero Paul Von Hindenburg.

Accounts of violence were splashed across the front pages of the nation’s newspapers. A name that had come to symbolize “Gangland USA,” Al Capone, was awaiting transfer to a new federal penitentiary on an island in San Francisco Bay.

The Texas summer was at its hottest; James V. Alfred and Tom Hunter were left standing for a runoff for the Democratic Party’s nomination for governor, with the winner cruising to victory in November. In the Rio Grande Valley, farmers were desperate for cotton pickers as the crop matured. Many pickers had been recruited by upstate farms. In Brownsville, the Gateway Bridge was sold for $100,000 just six years after it had opened.

Despite hard economic times and drought plaguing some parts of the country in the late summer of 1934, one common thread seemed to unite the country. Baseball was king when it came to entertainment. Cities, towns, and villages fielded teams in professional, semi-professional and amateur leagues, which could be found throughout the land. The Detroit Tigers and New York Giants held on to slim leads in the American and National Leagues. Fans followed the major leagues and their local teams with equal enthusiasm.

Baseball fans were saddened that the game’s biggest name was calling it a day. Babe Ruth announced in August 1934 that the season would be his last as a regular player. The “Sultan of Swat” did state his desire to remain in the game as a manager or coach.

The perennial home run king was being eclipsed by the Philadelphia Athletics’ Jimmy Foxx, the Tigers’ Hank Greenberg and New York Yankee teammate Lou Gehrig as the game’s top round-trip producer.

Sunday was baseball’s day as town teams crisscrossed the Rio Grande Valley, meeting rivals on a weekly basis.

Port Isabel’s Dr. James A. Hockaday was promoting the first Tarpon Rodeo fishing tournament. Participants were expected from across the country. Part of the entertainment was a doubleheader baseball game between the Port Isabel Pelicans and a team from San Juan. In Valley baseball circles, though, attention was turned south to a match of international rivals.

As late July approached, the Valley’s best semi-pro baseball team was on the road. The McAllen Lions were traveling to Mexico City to take on the Aztecas, billed as the champions of the republic. Mexico’s national champs had earned their reputation as a premier ballclub. Earlier that year, they had defeated American professional teams, including Dallas and Fort Worth of the Texas League and Little Rock and Chattanooga from the Southern Association. They also held a victory over Portland, a member of the Pacific Coast League, which was considered by many the third major league.

The Lions were set to take on the Aztecas in a seven-game series at Delta Park in the Mexican capitol. A poster promoting the games declared the Lions the Border and South Texas champions, and an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They also were billed as the “white Americans” on the poster.

The McAllen team had two pairs of brothers on their squad: Bill and Nick Yoder and Malcolm and George Sellers. Joe Ogden, who led the team’s pitchers, was also known for his crowd-pleasing clowning antics. Bill Walsh also shared mound duties.

Dan Seitz handled the catching duties. Third baseman and captain Art Schacht [emphasis added] and left fielder Kenny Brown were considered reliable hitters. Other members of the team included manager H.E. Kyler, pitchers Raukin, Stroger, Young and Rozell, while McGlothin took care of the shortstop position.

The Lions arrived on July 27 and met the Aztecas on Sunday, July 29. The Lions stunned the Aztecas and crowd of 3,000 spectators, downing the home team, 4-3. Ogden threw a seven-hitter, striking out eight while walking one. The game was delayed by rain for 30 minutes in the fifth inning.

Ogden put on a show by trying to chase down a chicken in the rain. When play resumed, he promptly hurled four shutout innings for the complete game victory. Centerfielder Malcolm Sellers’ running catch of a deep fly ball preserved the victory. The affair took only one hour and 50 minutes; it’s not known if the playing time included the rain delay.

The victory made the visiting McAllen club an overnight sensation in Mexico City. The next game was scheduled for Monday, July 30.

Surely the Aztecas would take their opponents from north of the border a little more seriously. But that wasn’t the case, as Walsh hurled a 6-0 shutout, allowing six hits, all singles, as the Lions took a 2-0 lead in the series.

Mexico’s national champions did get serious during the next three contests.

They outscored McAllen 10-7, then evened the series with a 4-2 victory. The Lions led the fourth game, 1-0, until the eighth inning, when the Aztecas scored four runs on three hits, a walk and an error. Walsh took the loss for the visitors.

The fifth game was moved to Monday, Aug. 6, and was marked by a major controversy. McAllen led 4-0 in the fourth when the Aztecas loaded the bases. Mexico City’s centerfielder, Cuco Alfonso, drilled a ball down the third base line, clearing the bases and reaching third. According to a Brownsville Herald game report, the umpire initially called “foul.” With the centerfielder standing on third, the umpire changed his mind and ruled Alfonso’s ball fair.

Later in the inning, catcher Seitz and first baseman George Sellers collided on a pop-up. Seitz was knocked unconscious and revived.

Sellers was cut on the forehead. Both finished the game hurting. Mexico City took the game and the series lead, 3-2, with a 7-6 victory.

The series winner was decided in the next contest when the Aztecas downed the Lions, 8-6, on Friday, Aug. 10. Two additional games were played and split by the two teams, McAllen winning 8-7 on Saturday and losing 6-0 on Sunday, finishing the road trip with three wins and five losses against Mexico’s best ballclub.

Returning to McAllen on Aug. 14, manager Kyler said the club was considering an offer from the Aztecas to visit McAllen for a rematch. The Mexico City team wanted a guarantee of $700 to visit the City of Palms.

1928 Newspaper Article: Schacht Stars for Red Birds

• Ancestry.com entry