Dick “Ducky” Schofield had plenty of claims to fame in his baseball career, but two stood out above the rest: After starting at shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Harvey Haddix’s 12 innings of perfection in 1959, Schofield played for their 1960 World Series champions.
“That was a pretty exciting game,” Schofield told The State Journal-Register of the May 26, 1959 game against the Milwaukee Braves. “And I played in a lot of other games that meant a lot. But ’60 would be hard to top.”
A 19-year major-league veteran who played for the Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers, Schofield died July 11 at age 87 in his hometown of Springfield, Ill.
His father, John “Ducky” Schofield, spent 11 seasons in the minor leagues, reaching Double-A with Kansas City. The nickname carried on with Dick, who became the Cardinals’ first “bonus baby” when he bypassed a basketball scholarship to Northwestern to sign with St. Louis and made his major-league debut July 3, 1953, at age 18.
The Pirates acquired Schofield in June 1958 in exchange for infielders Gene Freese and Johnny O’Brien, and Schofield spent eight seasons in Pittsburgh.
Schofield started at shortstop and batted leadoff for Haddix’s 12-inning perfect game at Milwaukee, going 3 for 6 with three singles as the Pirates lost 1-0 in 13 innings.
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The following year, Schofield filled in at shortstop when NL MVP Dick Groat was lost for the final month to a wrist injury. After not getting a hit in 27 games from June through August, Schofield batted .397 (27 for 68) with four doubles, a triple and nine RBIs over the final 22 games.
Known primarily for his defense, Schofield finished with a career-best .333 batting average and a .429 on-base percentage in 65 games. His only appearances in the World Series were as a pinch hitter in the three blowout losses to the Yankees, when he went 1 for 3.
Schofield’s solid play prompted the Pirates to trade Groat to St. Louis after the 1962 season. Schofield batted .246 in 1963 and ’64 before being traded traded to the Giants in May 1965 for infielder Jose Pagan.
That was in line with his .248 average in eight seasons with the Pirates, over which he had 64 doubles, 11 triples, nine home runs and 107 RBIs. He finished with a career batting average of .227, with 113 doubles, 20 triples, 21 homers and 211 RBIs in 1,321 games.
When his career ended, Schofield returned to Springfield. He had three children with his wife Donna, who died in 2011. Schofield’s son (Dick Schofield) and grandson (Jayson Werth) played in the major leagues, and Werth won a World Series with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008.
