To make room for him on the roster, the Yankees sent a 19-year-old future Hall of Famer, Mantle, who was struggling in his rookie season, to the Triple-A Kansas City Blues in the American Association.
“A little while later, Mickey began making quite a name for himself,” Schallock said, grinning. “And guess who they had me room with? Yogi Berra! They had me room with him because he knew about every hitter in the league. He would run over the hitters for every ballclub we played to help me.”
He said Berra had a very sharp mind, but also a fun side.
“Yogi often had me run down to the lobby of hotels to get comic books for him,” he said.
Later in the 1951 season, Mantle was recalled by the Yankees.
“He was a very quiet individual, but teammates Billy Martin and Whitey Ford turned that around,” Schallock said, referring to Mantle’s subsequent drinking and other hard partying habits.
Schallock led the Yankees in batting for much of the season and finished with a .294 average — but had only 17 at-bats.
“The newspapers listed the team’s batting averages, but didn’t indicate how many at-bats we had,” he said, smiling. “For weeks, I was listed as the top hitter.”
The Yankees went on to win their third consecutive World Series, against the New York Giants, in 1951. He began the following season with the Yankees, but was subsequently optioned to the Blues and compiled an 8-6 record as they won the American Association pennant.
Schallock remained with the Blues for most of the 1953 season, but was later called up by the Yankees, recording no decisions in seven appearances. He pitched the final two innings of game four in the World Series against the Dodgers, though, and the Yankees won the series.
He pitched in only six games for the Yankees in 1954. In a game against the Washington Senators that season, he tore a muscle in his pitching arm.
“I won the game, but when I went back to the hotel and went to bed, I couldn’t raise my arm over my head or comb my hair,” he said. “If Tommy John surgery was available then, I would have had it done.”
Schallock was optioned to the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League, where he had a 12-4 record, despite the arm trouble.
He started the 1955 season with the Yankees, but they placed him on waivers in May, and he was signed by the Baltimore Orioles. Schallock appeared in 30 games, compiling a 3-5 record, and in one contest against the Yankees, he gave up a home run to Mantle, who smiled at him as he circled the bases.
After the season, the Orioles sold Schallock’s contract to the Seattle Rainiers. He had an 11-9 record, but decided to retire the following year due to his still-nagging arm injury.
He later worked as a salesperson in his brother-in-law’s sporting goods store in San Rafael and as a public relations director and escrow officer for California Land Title. Schallock also enjoyed golf, trout fishing and gardening.
“I love golf,” he said. “I started caddying when I was 10 years old. I packed a bag for 18 holes and made 50 cents for it.”
In the 1960s and 1970s, Schallock and his wife, Donna, won several championships in tournaments in and around Marin County.
The couple — along with their two daughters, and their grandson, Zach Pascoe — also enjoyed trout fishing.
“We went to beautiful downtown Markleeville, California, population 200, twice a year and stayed there for four or five days to go trout fishing,” he said.
Pascoe says that losing Donna has been very difficult for Schallock.
“It’s been extremely challenging,” he said.
“My wife and I really got along well together,” Schallock added.
His activities are much more limited now.
“I’ve had a triple bypass, I have a pacemaker, I ache all over, I can’t hear as well as I used to, I can’t see too well and I can’t drive anymore,” he said. “I’m falling apart. But I’m fine, except for a few aches and pains in my hands and feet, which are to be expected, I guess.”
He says the secret to his longevity is “clean living.”
“I haven’t had a drink since I’ve been here at Cogir, except a beer now and then,” he said. “I used to have drinks before dinner — two glasses of vodka on the rocks, mixed with water. My wife wouldn’t let me have any more than that.”
Schallock said that he is content with his life.
“It’s been a wonderful career, but if I had to do it over again, I would play more golf and do more trout fishing,” he said. “I love trout fishing — but I don’t like to eat ’em.”
Reach the reporter, Dan Johnson, at daniel.johnson@sonomanews.com.
Art Schallock’s 100th birthday celebration
During Art Schallock’s 100th birthday celebration — to be held at Cogir on Napa Road Assisted Living and Memory Care, on 91 Napa Road in Sonoma — the parking lot will be decorated like a ballpark stadium and staff members will wear different styles of Yankees jerseys, shirts and hats. A red carpet will be rolled out for Schallock’s entrance and a tiered, Yankees-themed cake will be presented to him.
In addition to a beer and wine garden, concession stands will serve hot dogs, cotton candy and popcorn.
The New Skye Trio will provide musical entertainment and Sonoma Mayor John Gurney will present Schallock with a centenarian certificate.
An exhibit will include photographs of Schallock with the Yankees and other teams, bats and baseballs that he signed, and a silver platter signed by Yankees players.
Baseballs signed in advance by him will be available for purchase, but attendees also can bring their own baseballs for him to autograph during a 30-minute period.
Cogir requests attendees to RSVP at 707-939-1500 or by emailing Jennifer Passanisi, the community relations director, at jpassanisi@cogirusa.com.
