Schmidt a true all-around player

The Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fameis proud to announce the selection of Harvey Schmidt of Medicine Hat, Alta., the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame, Individual Category, as a player on Aug. 20, 2016, in Battleford.

Schmidt was born July 27, 1939, in Empress, Alta., virtually on the Saskatchewan Alberta border. He played baseball while attending high school in Medicine Hat, but being raised on a farm west of Burstall, was able to play baseball in the summer with his hometown Burstall Braves at the tender age of 15.

In 1958, the Burstall Braves joined the Sask-Alta League. He would play with Burstall every year, except 1962, when he was working and living in Abbey.  That year he played with Shakleton, helping the team win the South River League Championship.

Schmidt was a natural at the game. He was capable of playing every position on the baseball diamond with great skill, although he preferred not to be the catcher. He was a natural at batting, leaving the opposition guessing as to where his line drive would fall into play.

In 1968, Schmidt was selected and played on the Sask-Alta League All Star team where they met Oxbow in the Southern Saskatchewan finals. Harvey came into pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning, holding Oxbow to 5 scoreless innings. Then in the bottom of the ninth inning, he hit a solo home run to win the Southern Championship.

Schmidt was instrumental in keeping the Burstall Braves in the top four positions of the Sask-Alta League, with his strong pitching, hitting and patrolling a steady infield on a regular basis. He played a very important part in Burstall winning the Sask-Alta League Championship for the first time in 1970. He had a .400 batting average and won two games on the mound with a league leading 36 strikeouts.

In 1971, Burstall again took the Sask-Alta League Championship, with Schmidt sharing the best pitching record with Hall of Famer Allan Marshall of Leader along the way. He was the winning pitcher in the league final, going all nine innings in a 10-7 victory over the Mendham Monarchs.

In 1976, Schmidt began his second baseball career, playing 11 more years as an infielder and pitcher with the Sask-Alta Twilighters. They had strong teams and won provincial honours in 1979 and 1980.

In 2005, Schmidt was awarded the Sask-Alta Baseball League Grant Ehniz Memorial Award for outstanding dedication and sportsmanship to the game of baseball.