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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of John
4 Schaive of Springfield, who passed away on May 11, 2009; and
 
5     WHEREAS, John Schaive was born on February 25, 1934 in
6 Springfield; he was a graduate of Lanphier High School; and
 
7     WHEREAS, John Schaive had a long and distinguished baseball
8 career; he began his career when he signed with the Chicago
9 White Sox in 1952; he was then released from the White Sox and
10 became a minor league terror; in 1955, he led a Class D league
11 in four offensive categories; the following season, he was in
12 spring training with the big club, an opportunity cut short
13 when he entered the military; and
 
14     WHEREAS, After spending two seasons in military service,
15 John Schaive returned to baseball; he spent five seasons in the
16 big leagues, from 1958 to 1960 with the original Senators (who
17 became the Minnesota Twins in 1961) and from 1962 to 1963 with
18 the expansion Washington Senators; his best major league season
19 came in 1962, when he played 82 games and batted .253 with 6
20 home runs and 29 runs batted in; in the course of his major
21 league career, he batted .232 in 114 games; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, John Schaive's Major League career, while
2 fruitful, consisted of more sitting than playing; at one point
3 in his career, he went to Senators manager Mickey Vernon and
4 made a request to go back to the minor leagues; and
 
5     WHEREAS, John Schaive played for 12 seasons in the minor
6 leagues; throughout his minor league career, he was a career
7 .291 hitter in more than 1,100 minor league games; he also hit
8 .293 on the Class AA level and .282 in five Triple-A seasons;
9 he even had his hand in some pitching, going 2-3 in 13
10 appearances for Decatur of the Mississippi-Ohio League in 1954
11 and 2-1 in eight appearances with York of the Class AA Eastern
12 League in 1963; and
 
13     WHEREAS, John Schaive ended his career in 1966 as a
14 player-manager in Monterrey, Mexico following a long battle
15 with various sports injuries, including a hurt knee and a
16 dislocated elbow; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Following his retirement, John Schaive came back
18 to Springfield, where he helped raise his family; he also
19 coached the Springfield Caps of the Central Illinois Collegiate
20 League in the 1970s and served as coach when Sangamon State
21 University fielded a baseball team; although he never
22 officially worked as a scout for any professional organization,
23 he served as an area scout for his many friends in baseball; he

 

 

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1 played a role in getting professional baseball contracts for
2 local players such as Roger Erickson, Mike Mathiot, Jerry Fry,
3 Dan Callahan, Myron Hunter, Loren White, and Bill Lamkey; and
 
4     WHEREAS, John Schaive was one of the founding fathers of
5 the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame; he was also a charter
6 member of the organization in 1991; and
 
7     WHEREAS, John Schaive served as a model of hard work,
8 integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of
9 Illinois; therefore, be it
 
10     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
12 mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of John
13 Schaive; and be it further
 
14     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15 presented to the family of John Schaive as an expression of our
16 sympathy.