The White Sox made it look easy in sweeping to their sixth straight Chicago title

[chichi]

In his fourth full season in the majors, Schalk jumped his stolen-base output, swiping 30 bases, a record for a catcher. He was thrown fifa 15 coins out 13 times. His mark stood for a remarkable 66 years, until Kansas Cit y’s John Wathan stole 36. Schalk’s stolen bases helped offset a drop in his offensive production; Cracker’s bat- ting average was .232, the lowest of his career to that point.

Rowland’s players (89–65, four games worse than 1915) barely had time to lick their wounds before taking on Joe Tinker’s Cubs in the Cit y Series. The White Sox made it look easy in sweeping to their sixth straight Chicago title. The four Sox pitchers — Reb Russell, Red Faber, Claude Williams and Eddie Cicotte — all threw complete games. Sportswriters pointed to the sweep as evidence that baseball was a game played on the up-and-up. Had the series been extended by a Sox loss, an additional game would have meant a Sunday contest — particu- larly good money for the clubs but not the players, whose shares were calculated on receipts of the first four games only.

On the Sunday that would have been the date for Game 5 of the City Series, Schalk joined teammates Mel Wolfgang , Buck Weaver and Joe Jack- son at (where else?) a ball game. They watched the Chicago American Giants at Schorling Park, where fans were excited and honored to have the major leaguers in attendance.

Meanwhile, Schalk’s hometown of Litchfield was making ready for the second annual Schalk Day event — a ball game at Anchor Park and a banquet in the Hotel Litchfield. The host team, featuring the guest of honor, took on the Alpen Braus of nearby Mount Olive. The teams loaded up with as many professionals as they could attract, many of them hailing from downstate Illi- nois or the St. Louis area . The Anchor team of Litchfield included Joe Slat- tery (Nationals) at first, Joe Mulligan (Cubs) at shortstop, Jack Roche (Browns) at third, Braggo Roth (Cleveland and formerly of the White Sox) in center, Bob Groom (Browns) pitching and, of course, Schalk behind the plate. The game attracted thousands of fans, who shivered through Litchfield’s 8–0 vic- tory. Groom struck out 15 Mount Olive batters, and Schalk contributed with three hits and a stolen base.

When he stepped toward the plate to bat in the second inning of his final baseball game of 1916, Schalk received a serenade from the Mount Olive band: Richard Wagner’s “Bridal March” from the opera Lohengrin, commonly referred to as “Here Comes the Bride.”24 Considering Schalk’s plans for later in the week, the musical selection was appropriate.