Ed Schohl
| Date and Place of Birth: | 1912 Chicago, IL |
| Date and Place of Death: | November 1, 1943 near Caserta, Italy |
| Baseball Experience: | Minor League |
| Position: | Shortstop |
| Rank: | Private First Class |
| Military Unit: | Company F, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division US Army |
| Area Served: | Mediterranean Theater of Operations |
Edward N. "Bud" Schohl, the son of Mathias and Elizabeth Schohl, grew up in South Chicago, a center of thriving steel
mills, where he attended James H. Bowen High School and played shortstop
on the varsity baseball team. Schohl also played for the South Chicago
Post 493 American Legion junior team that won the state championship in
1931, and went on to clinch the national title, defeating Columbia,
South Carolina, in the finals at Houston, Texas. Post 493 easily
defeated Columbia, 13-4, in the opening game of the series on August 29,
and then played one of the most thrilling American Legion tournament
games ever seen as they defeated Kirby Higbe - who six years later would
be pitching in the National League for the Chicago Cubs - with a lone
run in the 14th inning.
Schohl went to work for Wisconsin Steel following high school graduation
but signed a minor league contract with the Eau Claire Cardinals of the
Class D Northern League in 1933.[1]
As Eau Claire's lead-off hitter, Schohl was playing for former White Sox
outfielder Johnny Mostil, and batted .258 over 100 games, showing some
power with seven home runs. Back with Eau Claire in 1934, Schohl batted
.252 over an injury-prone season appearing in just 87 games. The season
did, however, yield one interesting incident. On May 15, against the
Winnipeg Maroons, Schohl attempted to double Elmer Greenwald at first
base, and his throw hit the runner, Hal Bossard, on the right temple,
causing Bossard to collapse unconscious. Meanwhile, the ball bounded
high in the air and into the grandstand where it broke the nose of a
female spectator.[2]
A healthy Schohl hit .289 with 26 doubles in 1935, and turned in some
excellent defensive work with his double-play partner Hank Majeski. [3]
After three seasons with the Northern League's Eau Claire team, Schohl
was sold to the Duluth Dukes of the same league for 1936, and he batted
.260 in 102 games with 50 RBIs for the cellardwelling club. In 1937, he
jumped to Class A ball with the Rock Island Islanders of the Western
League, but after 17 games, Schohl was batting a paltry .190 and moved
to the Class B Three-I League where he joined the Terre Haute Tots. The
Tots disbanded on July 3, and Schohl joined the pennant-winning Clinton
Owls of the same league for the remainder of the year.
Nineteen-thirty-eight saw a return to the Northern League for the
24-year-old as he joined the Grand Forks Chiefs and was reunited with
manager Johnny Mostil, but he appeared in just 49 games and batted .285.
Back with the Chiefs in 1939, Schohl played third base with Robert
Doving at shortstop. He hit .253 in 106 games with nine home runs. In
1940, Mostil managed the Jonesboro White Sox of the Class D Northeast
Arkansas League, and Schohl was the club's shortstop. It was his eighth
season in the minors and he batted .262 in 89 games as the team finished
in second place.
Schohl had played over 600 games in the minors but 1940 was to be his
last season. Military service called at the beginning of 1941, and
Schohl served in the Mediterranean Theater with the 30th Infantry
Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division. On September 18, 1943, the 30th
Infantry Regiment landed near Salerno, Italy, and advanced, hill by
hill, towards Rome. North of Caserta in late October 1943, Private First
Class Schohl was seriously wounded in combat. He died on November 1,
1943.
On June 2, 1944, Schohl's name was on a plaque unveiled by Wisconsin
Steel in Trumbull Park, Chicago, bearing the names of 60 former
employees who lost their lives in World War II.
In 1948, Bud Schohl's body was returned to the United States and rests at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Evergreen Park, Illinois. [4]
|
Team |
League |
Class |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
|
| 1933 | Eau Claire | Northern | D | 100 | 387 | - | 100 | 13 | 5 | 7 | - | .258 |
| 1934 | Eau Claire | Northern | D | 87 | 349 | - | 88 | 10 | 4 | 6 | - | .252 |
| 1935 | Eau Claire | Northern | D | 121 | 460 | - | 133 | 26 | 5 | 9 | 56 | .289 |
| 1936 | Duluth | Northern | D | 102 | 408 | 76 | 106 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 50 | .260 |
| 1937 | Rock Island | Western | A | 17 | 58 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .190 |
| 1937 | Terre Haute/Clinton | Three-I | B | 49 | 179 | 14 | 40 | 5 | 2 | 2 | - | .223 |
| 1938 | Grand Forks | Northern | D | 49 | 165 | 17 | 47 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 26 | .285 |
| 1939 | Grand Forks | Northern | D | 106 | 396 | 46 | 100 | 24 | 3 | 9 | 54 | .253 |
| 1939 | Evansville | Three-I | B | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1940 | Jonesboro | N.E. Arkansas | D | 89 | 321 | 46 | 84 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 29 | .262 |
Notes
1. Schohl would continue to work for Wisconsin Steel during the
off-season throughout his baseball career.
2. Winnipeg Free Press, May 16, 1934.
3. Majeski made it to the major leagues with the Boston Braves in 1939.
His career spanned 13 seasons.
4. Chicago Tribune, December 2, 1948
Thanks to the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Historical Society for help with this biography.
Date Added February 19, 2012 Date Updated June 8, 2014
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