Al 'Red' Schoendienst was in a major league baseball uniform for over 48 years. He played in 2,216 games as a player and over 2,100 as a manager; 1,523 as a coach. Born in Germantown, Illinois - Schoendienst was in uniform with the Cardinals for over 30 years. Schoendienst played in ten All-Star games and was an outstanding fielding second baseman. This St. Louis Cardinal great led the National League 2nd basemen twice in double plays, three times he led the league in putouts and in assists and six times in fielding pct. Schoendienst hit over .300 in seven different seasons. 

In looking at an old 1950 edition of Who's Who book under Red's photo is this statement; "Red was a whiz-bang at second last year. Set a record for keystoners with .987; hit .297, led the team in stolen bases (8)". In the middle of the book is listed the NL leading fielders at all nine positions; here's the statement under Schoendienst's photo; "The red-hot redbird set two individual NL fielding records last year-the only one recorded for '49." "His FA of .987 was the highest ever made by a senior circuit 2nd baseman. He also set a new NL record for consecutive chances without an error-285". 

Schoendienst was the hero in the 1950 All-Star game played in Chicago's Comiskey Park when he boomed a 14th inning home run for the NL. He took fielding honors again when he handled 320 consecutive chances without a misplay. Traded to the Milwaukee Braves in 1957, the 'Redhead' helped the Braves win two pennants. He was ranked as the premier 2B during his playing days. Schoendienst managed the Cardinals for 14 seasons, guiding them to two Pennants and a World Championship in 1967. He later coached for various Teams. He was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1989. Schoendienst career records are: .289 batting average, scored 1223 runs, hit 427 doubles, 78 triples and 84 home runs. baseballhistorian.com Old Baseball History