Former Cubs Great Frank ‘Wildfire’ Schulte Was Baseball’s First 20/20/20/20 Player

Right fielder Frank “Wildfire” Schulte was born 9/17/1882 in Cochecton, NY, and died 10/2/1949 in Oakland, Ca. He was 67 years old. In between is the story.

“Frank developed his rudimentary baseball skills with his local school team,” reads his SABR bio. “Before the 1902 season, Frank logged time with teams in Blossburg, PA, Waverly, NY, and Lestershire, NY as well as teams sponsored by a local shoe factory and the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company.”

Schulte came up to the Cubs in 1904 and played effectively in 20 games, hitting .286 with two home runs and 13 RBI. He stayed with the club for 13 years, going to the Pirates in mid-1916 and then spending time with Philadelphia and Washington. 1918 was his last season.

As a Cub, Schulte hit .272, swatted 91 home runs, drove in 793 runs, and stole 233 bases. His best year was 1911, when he slashed .300/.385/.534 (that’s a .918 OPS), and won the MVP award. Those 21 home runs were twice what he had in the previous year, when his 10 led the National League. He also clouted four grand slams in 1911, hit for the cycle on July 20, and logged 31 sacrifices.

The next two seasons were also kind to Schulte, though his downfall was augured by his rapidly-lowering batting average. His average improved for the 1916 season, doubtless allowing for a better deal when he was sent to Pittsburgh. Schulte and catcher William Fischer were traded for catcher Art Wilson, who had been with Chicago in the Federal League and was a much better player than either at that point.

Schulte helped the Cubs to two World Series titles in four appearances and was well-known for such eccentricities as collecting hairpins and changing his “hitting shoes”, which he blamed for slumps. He was the first player ever to top the 20 mark in the categories of home runs, triples (21), doubles (30), and stolen bases (23) in 1911, a feat which wasn’t duplicated until Willie Mays did it in 1957.