Before there was Mr. Cub, the player who represented the best of the Chicago Cubs was an OF by the name of Frank Schulte. A teammate of the famous Tinker to Evers to Chance infield that was made famous by a poem, Schulte was an incredible hitter who won the NL's Chalmers Award given to the leagues' Most Valuable Player. Over his 13 seasons with the Cubs (1904-1916), he was arguably their most consistent offensive player, hitting .272, 91, 712 with a .733 OPS which included 117 3Bs in addition to his 233 SBs. In fact, Schulte became the first player in the history of the National League (and reportedly in all of professional baseball) to have a season with 20+ 2B, 20+ 3B, 20+ HR and 20+ HR. It wasn't until Willie Mays accomplished the feat in 1957 that a player would put up such numbers. (In 2007, both Curtis Granderson and Jimmy Rollins had 20+ of all categories.)
Most importantly, he was a top performer of the Cubs when they were the team to beat. He was part of the four time NL Pennant winning Cubs team in just a six year stretch (1906-1908, 1911). However, his stats on the two World Series Championship teams were far from impressive. 1907 saw Schulte appear in just 97 games, down from 146 in 1906 and 123 in 1905. In fact, it was the 1906 NL Pennant Cubs team that saw Schulte gain some recognition. That great Cubs team, which won 116 games, seemed to be more dominant as the two WS Championship teams. Schulte hit .281, 7, 60 with a league leading 13 3Bs. After a 1909 season where we hit .264, 4, 60- he would once again break out in the 1910 season, leading the dead ball NL with his 10 HR. After his MVP 1911 season, he hit another 12 HR in 1912 and 1915. Schulte would finish his career in Pittsburgh (1916-1917), Philadelphia (NL-1917) and Washington (1918).
Despite missing time in the 1907 and 1908 seasons, Schulte was still a very good World Series player for the Cubs. His 1908 performance alone was a deciding factor in the Cubs victory over the Detroit Tigers and Ty Cobb. He hit .389 (7-18 with a 3B and 2 RBI) in the 5 game victory. In the 1910 World Series against the Athletics, Schulte hit .428 (7-17) with another two RBI though the Cubs lost in 5 games. Overall, he hit .321 in World Series play with 9 RBI in 4 trips over his career.
Most importantly, he was a top performer of the Cubs when they were the team to beat. He was part of the four time NL Pennant winning Cubs team in just a six year stretch (1906-1908, 1911). However, his stats on the two World Series Championship teams were far from impressive. 1907 saw Schulte appear in just 97 games, down from 146 in 1906 and 123 in 1905. In fact, it was the 1906 NL Pennant Cubs team that saw Schulte gain some recognition. That great Cubs team, which won 116 games, seemed to be more dominant as the two WS Championship teams. Schulte hit .281, 7, 60 with a league leading 13 3Bs. After a 1909 season where we hit .264, 4, 60- he would once again break out in the 1910 season, leading the dead ball NL with his 10 HR. After his MVP 1911 season, he hit another 12 HR in 1912 and 1915. Schulte would finish his career in Pittsburgh (1916-1917), Philadelphia (NL-1917) and Washington (1918).
Despite missing time in the 1907 and 1908 seasons, Schulte was still a very good World Series player for the Cubs. His 1908 performance alone was a deciding factor in the Cubs victory over the Detroit Tigers and Ty Cobb. He hit .389 (7-18 with a 3B and 2 RBI) in the 5 game victory. In the 1910 World Series against the Athletics, Schulte hit .428 (7-17) with another two RBI though the Cubs lost in 5 games. Overall, he hit .321 in World Series play with 9 RBI in 4 trips over his career.
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