Otto Schomberg Bat
Before Fielder and Braun, there was Molitor and Yount. Before them, there was Aaron, Spahn and Matthews. What about Otto Schomberg? Milwaukee baseball historians and enthusiasts know Schomberg well, but few else have ever heard his story or the unique award that he won during his career.
Milwaukee’s baseball heritage extends well into the past, before arrival its first professional team, the Milwaukee Braves, in the 1950s. It began in earnest after the Civil War with teams like the Milwaukee Maple Leafs and the Cream City Baseball Club. Players like Otto Schomberg got their start with local teams, and then once their talent was noticed, got hired onto teams within more regional, organized leagues. Unfortunately for Schomberg and the other players, these teams were financially unstable, often with them disbanding or changing ownership year to year. Because Schomberg was a valued commodity: he was an excellent left-handed hitter, he kept playing, and although he moved around from team to team, Otto finally landed on the Indianapolis team of the National League for the 1887 season, via trade from Pittsburg.
1887 turned out to be the best of Schomberg’s career, where he had a batting average of .308 with 129 hits, 18 doubles, 16 triples, 5 home runs, 83 RBIs and 21 stolen bases, in only 112 games. Schmoberg was the only bright spot on a woeful Indianapolis team, where they placed dead last in the National League. For his performance, Schomberg was given an ivory bat, complete with a red velvet and blue satin case, for having the highest batting average on the team. The bats were manufactured and distributed by the A. G. Spaulding Company, a prominent sporting goods manufacturer that is still in existence. The company presented these ceremonial bats to every batting champion on each team throughout the National League.
The magical season of 1887 proved to be the apex of achievement for Otto Schomberg’s baseball career as poor fielding and a severe heart ailment permanently sidelined him from professional baseball. After his last season in 1889, he returned to Milwaukee. Unlike many players who had difficulty being away from the game, Schomberg excelled, starting his own lumber business with his brothers in Good Harbor, Michigan. The lumber mill became so successful that at one point, Schomberg was managing the largest hardwood firm in Milwaukee. This success allowed him to become involved in real estate, building homes in Milwaukee and California. On a return trip from the west in 1927, Schomberg suffered a fatal heart attack.
While never reaching the iconic status of other baseball players connected with Milwaukee, Otto Schomberg proved for one season that he was one of the best and his ivory bat will forever be proof of that accomplishment.
