MVP Profile: Frank “Wildfire” Schulte, 1911

Outfielder, Chicago Cubs

Age:  29 (Sept. 17)

8^th season with Cubs

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 170

Prior to 1911:

A native of Cochecton, New York, Schulte played for local independent baseball teams despite his father’s efforts to coax him into joining his contracting business. In 1902 he joined the Syracuse Stars of the New York State League. He batted .280 and followed up with .294 in 1903 and .286 in 1904 when his contract was purchased by the Cubs. Schulte appeared in 20 games for the Cubs in ’04 and hit .286 with 13 RBIs. He appeared in 123 games in 1905 and produced a .274 average with 14 doubles, 14 triples, a home run, 16 stolen basses, and 47 RBIs. The Cubs won 116 games and the NL pennant in 1906, and Schulte batted .281 with 18 doubles, a league-leading 13 triples, 7 home runs, 25 stolen bases, and 60 RBIs. The Cubs repeated as NL champs in 1907 and 1908, and, unlike 1906 when they were upset by the cross-town White Sox, also won the World Series  and the star right fielder remained a key contributor, despite missing significant time during each of those seasons. In 1909, the Cubs won 104 games and finished in second place while Schulte hit .264 with 16 doubles, 11 triples, 4 home runs, 23 stolen bases, and 60 RBIs. An eccentric character who searched the streets looking for hairpins, which he believed to be harbingers of his future hitting success, he was friendly with sportswriter Ring Lardner. It was said that he obtained the nickname “Wildfire” after he and other Cub players attended a play by that name starring actress Lillian Russell, a favorite of Schulte’s. Owner of several racehorses, he named one Wildfire in tribute and teammates and writers transferred the name to him. Not previously known for his home run totals, he co-led the NL with 10 in 1910 while also batting .301 with 29 doubles, 15 triples, 22 stolen bases, and 68 RBIs.  

1911 Season Summary

Appeared in 154 games

RF – 154

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 690 [4]

At Bats – 577 [4, tied with Doc Miller]

Runs – 105 [4]

Hits – 173 [4]

Doubles – 30 [8]

Triples – 21 [3]

Home Runs – 21 [1]

RBI – 107 [1, tied with Owen Wilson]

Bases on Balls – 76 [9]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 71 [5]

Stolen Bases – 23

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .300 [8, tied with Owen Wilson]

OBP - .384 [9, tied with Ed Konetchy]

Slugging Pct. - .534 [1]

Total Bases – 308 [1]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 3

Sac Hits – 31 [2]

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading home runs were +5 ahead of runner-up Fred Luderus

League-leading slugging pct was +.007 ahead of runner-up Larry Doyle

League-leading total bases were +31 ahead of runner-up Larry Doyle

Midseason snapshot: 3B – 10, HR - 7, RBI - 54, AVG - .303, SLG - .510

---

Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) vs. NY Giants 9/27

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

HR at home – 11

HR on road – 10

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 5 AB) vs. St. Louis Cards 8/12

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. St. Louis Cards 8/12, at Boston Braves 8/16

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 273

Put Outs – 246

Assists – 19

Errors – 8

DP – 8

Pct. - .971

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: Chalmers Award

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Frank Schulte, ChiC.: 29 pts. - 45% share

Christy Mathewson, NYG: 25 pts. – 39% share

G.C. “Pete” Alexander, PhilaP.: 23 pts. – 36% share

Larry Doyle, NYG: 23 pts. – 36% share

Honus Wagner, Pitt.: 23 pts. – 36% share

---

Cubs went 99-54 to finish second in the NL, 7.5 games behind the pennant-winning New York Giants, while leading the league in runs scored (757). The Cubs spent 40 days in first place, helped by a 10-game July winning streak, before dropping behind the Giants in late August.

Aftermath of 1911:

Schulte followed up his big MVP season by batting .264 with 27 doubles, 11 triples, 12 home runs, and 65 RBIs in 1912. In 1913 Schulte hit .278 with 9 home runs and 68 RBIs. His performance dropped off in 1914, a year in which he had difficulties with manager Hank O’Day and moved over to left field. He also nearly jumped to the rival Federal League. He was back among the NL’s leading power hitters in 1915 with 12 home runs and 62 RBIs to go along with a .249 average. The last of the stars from Frank Chance’s championship teams of 1907 and ’08, who was making about $4000 per year, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates at midseason in 1916 as his production began to drop. During 1917 he was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies as he hit just .214 for the year. After one last major league season with the Washington Senators in 1918, the 35-year-old Schulte found himself playing in the minors in 1919. That year he was player/manager for the Binghamton Bingoes of the International League and remained in the International League with Toronto, Syracuse, and Buffalo over the next two years. He finished up in the Pacific Coast League with the Oakland Oaks in 1922. For his major league career, Schulte batted .270 with 1766 hits that included 288 doubles, 124 triples, and 92 home runs. He scored 906 runs and compiled 793 RBIs and 233 stolen bases, which included 22 steals of home. With the Cubs the totals were a .272 average with 1590 hits, 254 doubles, 117 triples, 91 home runs, 827 runs scored, 713 RBIs, and 214 stolen bases. Appearing in 21 World Series games, “Wildfire” hit .321 with 9 RBIs and had a 13-game hitting streak. He settled in Oakland, California following his playing career and died in 1949 at age 67. 

--

MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.