Frank S. Scheibeck (June 28, 1865 – October 22, 1956) was an American

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

from 1887 to 1906. He played eight seasons of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the Cleveland Blues (1887, 1901),

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...

(1888), Toledo Maumees (1890),

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

(1894), Washington Senators (1894–95, 1899), and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1906).

Baseball player

Scheibeck was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

in 1865. He played professional baseball in Detroit in three decades and three leagues, for the

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

in 1888, for the

of the Western League from 1895 to 1896, and for the

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

in 1906. When he signed with the Tigers in April 1895, the ''Detroit Free Press'' wrote: "Scheibeck is not only a daring and good fielder, but he is fast on the lines and can do his share of hitting." Frank Scheibeck

Scheibeck began his professional baseball career in 1887 playing shortstop for the Duluth Freezers in the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the We ...

. He compiled a .335 batting average and stole 47 bases in 94 games at Duluth. He played the next two seasons for the

London Tecumsehs The historic London Tecumsehs were a professional men's baseball team in London, Ontario, Canada, that were first formed in 1868 — a merger of the Forest City Base Ball Club and the London Base Ball Club — which, according to George Railton's ...

in the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. In 1888, he had a .305 batting average and 81 stolen bases in 92 games for London. While Scheibeck appeared in three games for the Cleveland Blues in 1887 and one game for the

in 1888, his first extended playing time in

was in 1890 with the Toledo Maumees of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. That year, he led the league with 134 games played at shortstop, 282 putouts at shortstop, and 412 assists at shortstop, but also led the league with 92 errors. He also compiled a .350

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, drew 76 bases on balls, and stole 57 bases for Toledo in 1890. After a full season in a major league in 1890, Schebeck spent the next three seasons in the minor leagues, playing for the Sioux City Corn Huskers (1891), Atlanta Firecrackers (1892), Omaha Omahogs (1892), Erie Blackbirds (1893), and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

(1893). Scheibeck returned to the major leagues in 1894 with the

. He compiled a .353 batting average and .421 on-base percentage in 116 plate appearances for the Pirates. In 1895, his batting average plummeted to .180 while playing for the Washington Senators. Between 1897 and 1900, Schebeck played in the Eastern League for the Syracuse Stars (1897) and

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

(1898–1900). In 1901, Sheibeck again returned to the major leagues as the starting shortstop for the Cleveland Blues. He appeared in 93 games for the Blues as the seventh oldest player in the

. Scheibeck began the 1903 season playing for the

Rochester Bronchos The Rochester Bronchos were a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and ...

in the Eastern League. In June 1903, Scheibeck quit the Rochester club and signed with the

Denver Grizzlies Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

in the Western League.

Later years

At the time of the 1920 U.S. Census, Scheibeck was living in Detroit with his wife, Josephine, and their daughter, Josephine. Scheibeck was employed at the time as a real estate salesman. At the time of the 1930 and 1940 U.S. Censuses, he was living in Detroit with his second wife Theodoshia (Phillips) Scheibeck. He was employed as a real estate salesman in 1930 and as a busher in an auto buckling department in 1940.Census entry for Frank Scheibeck, age 74, born in Michigan. Source Citation: Year: 1940; Census Place: Detroit, Wayne, Michigan; Roll: T627_1865; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 84-862. Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census atabase on-line In October 1956, Scheibeck died at St. Joseph's Hospital in Detroit at age 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheibeck, Frank 1865 births 1956 deaths 19th-century baseball players Baseball players from Detroit Major League Baseball shortstops Cleveland Blues (1887–88) players Cleveland Blues (1901) players Detroit Wolverines players Toledo Maumees players Pittsburgh Pirates players Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Detroit Tigers players Duluth Freezers players London Tecumsehs (baseball) players Sioux City Corn Huskers players Atlanta Firecrackers players Omaha Omahogs players Erie Blackbirds players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Detroit Tigers (Western League) players Grand Rapids Gold Bugs players Toledo Swamp Angels players Terre Haute Hottentots players Indianapolis Hoosiers (minor league) players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Montreal Royals players Toledo Mud Hens players Denver Grizzlies (baseball) players Rochester Bronchos players St. Joseph Saints players Little Rock Travelers players Montgomery Senators players Troy Trojans (minor league) players

Baseball player

Later years

See also

References