NICKNAMES OF THE 1970S- "DUCKY" DICK SCHOFIELD

Wanted to add this “nickname” card to the long-running series, even though technically he wouldn’t be considered a “1970s” player.
Nevertheless, veteran Major League infielder “Ducky” Dick Schofield wound up a nice 19-year career in 1971, carving out a Big League tenure as a valuable glove to fill-in or platoon throughout the years:

Schofield would end up splitting the 1971 season, his last, between the St. Louis cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers, finishing up with 1321 games played, 3083 at-bats and 699 hits, good for a .227 career average.
Over those 19 seasons he played for seven organizations, three in the American League and four in the National League, playing what we would consider a “full” season only twice, in 1963 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and 1965 when he split the season with the Pirates and San Francisco Giants.
Later on his son Dick Jr, as well as grandson Jayson Werth would play in the Big Leagues, making them one of the rare three-generation baseball families out there.

MISSING IN ACTION- 1972 DICK SCHOFIELD

Here’s a “missing” 1972 card that is also a “career capper” for Dick Schofield, father of Dick Jr and grandfather of current player Jayson Werth:

Schofield Sr was wrapping up a long 19-year career in which he was generally a guy off the bench except for a couple of seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the mid-1960’s.
In those 19 seasons he played in only 1321 games with 3083 at-bats, collecting 699 hits for a career average of .227.
In 1971, his last as a Major League player, he played for both the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers, appearing in 57 games and batting .182 with 16 hits over 88 at-bats.
I’m not too familiar with his career but I am assuming that the man could field, accounting for his long tenure in the big leagues, covering second, short and third throughout his days.

THEN AND NOW #23: DICK SCHOFIELD 1971

Today's "Super Veteran" is a guy I always knew of, but never realized just how long a career he actually had: Dick Schofield Sr.

But before I get into the man himself, check out my 1971-style "Then and Now" card:

I was fully aware of Schofield because of his son, Dick Jr., who played in the '80's and 90's. 

Actually, the Schofield's were one of the subjects of the Topps 1985 "Father/Son" sub-set.

What I never realized is that the senior Schofield played for 19 years in the Major Leagues, between 1953 and 1971, for a handful of teams in both leagues.

By the time he retired after the 1971 season, Schofield had played in 1321 games for seven different franchises: Cardinals, Pirates, Giants, Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Brewers.

A light hitting infielder, he was a member of the World Champion 1960 Pirates, as well as the 1968 Cardinals, who lost to the Detroit Tigers  in the World Series.

Of his 19 years in the big leagues, he appeared in over 100 games in only three seasons, 1963-1965.

Nevertheless, he was a solid fielder who was an asset off the bench, even leading the league in fielding in 1965 with a .981 percentage among N.L. Shortstops.

One last tidbit: not only is he the father of a future big leaguer, but he's also current big league player Jayson Werth's grandfather. Not a bad bloodline going on here…