Gratz hails its humble big-league hero
Friday, June 17, 2005
BY MICHAEL BULLOCK
For The Patriot-News

Cranked to a full boil, World War II was hogging the headlines on Sept. 6, 1943, when a strapping 16-year-old right-hander from northern Dauphin County was summoned from the bullpen at Philadelphia's Shibe Park.

Not to wield a rake and move some dirt near home plate. Not to hustle in a handful or two of baseballs for an impatient umpire shepherding a lopsided game he wanted desperately to end. Not to deliver spikes to a forgetful reliever.

No, Carl Scheib was coming in to pitch.

Signed earlier that day by the legendary Connie Mack, Scheib watched from the bullpen as his scuffling Philadelphia Athletics teammates spanked the powerful New York Yankees 11-2 in the first game of a doubleheader.

Later, with the Yankees holding a sizable lead in Game 2, Scheib got the call to replace Orie Arntzen in the ninth inning of a game the A's dropped 11-4. Though Scheib's pitching line was not all that remarkable, his feat definitely was.

So, while a 16-year-old heaving fastballs in the big leagues might not have grabbed the headlines in Philadelphia, not with war raging all over the globe, a cozy Pennsylvania hamlet certainly noticed.

Tomorrow, nearly 62 years since Scheib strode to the pitcher's mound in a big-city ballpark that no longer exists, the 700 or so young and old who call Gratz home will notice again what their 6-1, 190-pound kid accomplished.

What Scheib accomplished back in 1943 was to break into the bigs as the youngest pitcher in American League history. He pitched less than an inning on that early September day, surrendering a pair of hits.

Only Joe Nuxhall, who a season later pitched for the National League's Cincinnati Reds at age 15, was younger than the Gratz-born Scheib.

"Well, I can't believe it yet," said Scheib, a tennis-playing 78-year-old who was planning to drive to Gratz from his adopted hometown of San Antonio, Texas. "It's just wonderful that you're remembered and all that stuff.

"I never dreamed that this would happen to me."

During tomorrow's baseball-tinted gathering, Gratz will rename its community ballpark in Scheib's honor and unmask a brass monument bearing his likeness as well as his many accomplishments.

Tomorrow's festivities, part of Gratz's year-long bicentennial celebration, begin at 3 p.m. at Scheib Park, the place where a hard-throwing youngster pitched before wandering off to a place with a similar-sounding name.

The son of a coal miner who was raised on a small farm between Gratz and Klingerstown, Scheib and his older brother Paul would break out the baseball gloves their father bought them and play catch whenever they could.

Carl pitched. Paul caught.

"Paul often said that just to hold the catcher's mitt, he had to keep putting padding in and keep putting padding in, but Carl still kept tearing up his hand," said Charles Schoffstall, the treasurer of the Gratz Historical Society.

A terrific hitter who really wanted to play the outfield, 15-year-old Carl wound up pitching for a Gratz High School team that needed to dip into the seventh and eighth grades in 1942 to find enough players.

Nonetheless, Gratz wound up claiming the Upper Dauphin League title, sweeping Millersburg in a two-game set. Scheib pitched both games, beating the Indians 7-2 in Game 1 and 2-0 in the second.

Scheib also ignited the winning rally in Game 2 with an early double.

"Carl had the strongest arm you've ever seen," said former Gratz teammate Warren Hassinger, who will emcee tomorrow's festivities. "He was also a hitter, that's why he batted cleanup. ... He was a tremendous hitter."

While a rapidly growing reputation brought Scheib invitations to pitch for an assortment of local baseball teams, a woman who worked as a clerk in a local store asked him if he would be interested in playing professionally.

Seems a traveling salesman who did some scouting on the side for Mack and the Philadelphia A's used to pop in from time to time and the clerk tipped him off. So, he went to see Scheib pitch for Gratz High.

A short time later, Scheib received a letter from the A's inviting him to Philadelphia for a tryout. Obviously anxious and unsure what to expect, Scheib traveled to Philly -- without his glove and spikes.

So, even though that day's game was scrapped by rain and his gear was back home in Gratz, Mack & Co. still had Scheib throw a bullpen session.

"They said hurry back next year," Scheib said.

So he did.

Although the A's didn't sign Scheib immediately, they kept him around the ballclub, had him throw batting practice, even took him on some road trips. He also lived in a Philly apartment, rooming with another wannabe named Nellie Fox.

"All I knew was I was a homebound kid who had never been away from home," said Scheib, whose brother Paul played a couple of years in the minors after signing with the A's. "A trip to Philly seemed like going around the world.

"I had never been out in public, never eaten in a restaurant, none of those things. When they dropped me off, I had a pretty hard time."

Eventually, as the 1943 season began to wind down and the A's found themselves well out of another pennant race, Mack called Scheib in, signed him, issued him a different uniform number and sent him to the bullpen.

A few hours later, Scheib was pitching to a potent Yankee lineup featuring Charlie "King Kong" Keller, Frank Crosetti and reigning AL most valuable player Joe Gordon. Future Hall of Famer Bill Dickey had caught the first game.

Not bad for a 16-year-old.

"I hate to say it, but being born and raised in Gratz, where you worked on farms, we didn't know about big-league baseball," Scheib said. "I thought they were crazy to pay you to play ball, but I loved it so much."

Scheib made 25 appearances for the A's during his first three seasons (1943-45), then saw his career interrupted by a stint in the military. He returned to the A's in 1947, pitching for them until a trade in 1954 sent him to St. Louis.

Beset by arm problems, Scheib finished his 11-year big-league career later that season -- at age 27 -- with a 45-65 record and 4.88 earned-run average. He also hit .250 in the majors, tagging five homers and driving in 59 runs.

His best year came in 1948, when Scheib went 14-8 with a 3.94 ERA and 15 complete games. He also batted .298, smacked two home runs and knocked in 21 for an A's club that wound up fourth (84-70) in the American League.

Gratz certainly noticed.

"At that time, everybody was listening on the radio," said Schoffstall, who is just a few years younger than Scheib. "The radio carried the games. So, it was really fantastic here. People also went down there."

To see one of their own and everyone else.

Scheib, who pitched several seasons in the minors before settling in San Antonio, had the chance to play alongside and against many of baseball's all-time greats before his career with the A's and Cardinals came to an end.

In addition to Fox, Scheib's teammates included George Kell, Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst and future big-league managers Mayo Smith, Luman Harris, Alex Grammas and Billy Hitchcock. Schoendienst, too.

Among those players he faced were Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Phil Rizzuto, Lou Boudreau, Bob Feller, Satchel Paige, Luke Appling, Larry Doby, Whitey Ford, Bob Lemon and Early Wynn.

"I'm proud of playing in that era," Scheib said. "There were some very good ballplayers. The DiMaggios, the Williamses, the Yogis and the Mantles. There were only eight teams in there, so it was competitive baseball and good for the fans."

Tomorrow, many of Scheib's former fans and some new ones who are just learning what he accomplished will be proud, too.

Back home in Gratz.

MICHAEL BULLOCK: 255-8124 or mbullock@patriot-news.com