Arthur Schott, whose encyclopedic knowledge of baseball and New Orleans’ history in the game guided researchers, reporters and fans for eight decades, died Friday. He was 97.
A baseball fan since childhood, Schott was always very generous with his knowledge and a frequent source of information for sports journalists.
Legendary New Orleans newspaper columnist (and fellow baseball fan) Charles “Pie” Dufour once called Schott the “one-man encyclopedia of baseball.” Many other colleagues agreed.
Schott referred to his personal library of books, programs, guides, newspaper clippings, photographs and memorabilia – which dated back to 1867 – as “Cooperstown Jr.,” a reference to the New York location of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Visitors to his Lakeshore home were even greeted with a doorbell-chimed version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
“Four bedrooms of his New Orleans home are covered from floor to-ceiling, wall-to-wall with baseball books and memorabilia. But the true treasure trove is Schott himself,” wrote fellow baseball historian Derby Gisclair.
“Anyone who has ever wanted information about baseball in New Orleans has found their way to the large circular table in Schott’s den. There he will patiently scan his memory for the answers to your questions. Every so often he will retreat into one of his binders of reference material or filing cabinets of research to provide the necessary information to satisfy even the most obtuse inquiry.”
Schott, who purchased his first A.G. Spalding Baseball Guide in 1932, said his interest in the sport and its statistics dated back to his youth. He remembered tagging along with his father to the old Heinemann Park (later Pelican Stadium) to watch the New Orleans Pelicans play the Little Rock Travelers in 1929. When he was 11 years old, one of his friends let him look through a scrapbook of complete box scores of the 1930 Southern Association.
"In the book were details of every game in the Southern Association that year," Schott told The Times-Picayune in 1991. "I bought it for 20 cents.”
“Because of box scores, I can relive something of the past, a beautiful part of the past,” he once told writer Ronnie Virgets. “I can imagine what greats like Cobb and Mathewson were doing in their heyday.”
Schott was a particularly valuable source of information on the Pelicans, the minor league professional baseball team which called the city home from 1887 until 1959. He also became personal friends with many of the players and managers he watched over the years, locally and nationally.
For many years, he helped run his family business, Schott & Co. Wholesale Meat Packers. Throughout it all, he also put his love for baseball to use professionally, writing a column for The Times-Picayune and States-Item newspapers, called “A Schott from the Bleachers.” Over the years, his work also appeared in Sporting News and many other baseball magazines, newsletters and websites. He also was a frequent guest speaker on baseball history for clubs and organizations.
His authority and knowledge of baseball, in particularly the history of the Southern Association, was recognized in 1973 when Gov. Edwin Edwards named him Louisiana’s Official Baseball Historian.
"I always like to make sure people know I haven't received so much as a postage stamp for the job," Schott joked in The Times-Picayune. "But no one else in America bears that title."
In 2003, he was inducted into the Sugar Bowl Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. In 2007, Schott was honored with a Distinguished Service Award by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and in 2011, the New Orleans Zephyrs inducted him into the New Orleans Professional Baseball Hall of Fame, an entity he helped provide research for over the years. He was also honored with induction into the Diamond Club’s Hall of Fame and with the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Greater New Orleans Baseball Hall of Fame.
Schott was the founding member of the local chapter of the Society of American Baseball Research, which is named in his honor.
Schott graduated from Jesuit High School in 1936 and attended Loyola University before World War II. During World War II, Schott served honorably in the United States Army from January 1942 until August 1945. He was stationed in the Pacific Theater, mostly in the Philippines and New Guinea. At one time, while on a transport ship in the Pacific Ocean, his ship was attacked by a Japanese pilot, forcing Schott and the other survivors to abandon ship and await rescue in shark infested waters.
Schott was a parishioner of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Lake Vista for than 50 years, where he served as lector and usher, and he was also a long time member of the Knights of Columbus.
Schott is survived by his wife of nearly 68 years, Mary Grinnen Schott, seven sons, 16 grandchildren and six great grandchildren, as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins.
Visitation will be at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 6666 Spanish Fort Boulevard, New Orleans, on Wednesday, June 1, from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., followed by a funeral mass at the same location at 1:00 p.m.
"Donations may be made to St. Pius X Catholic Church, or if you prefer, go to a baseball game and think of Schott while there," his family said.
