in the deadball era, catchers played a much greater defensive role than subsequently, given the large number of bunts and stolen base attempts, as well as the difficulty of handling the spitball pitchers who dominated pitching staffs. He had to catch every type of pitch imaginable, including shine balls, spitballs, knuckleballs and emory balls from pitchers such as, Ed Walsh, Eddie Cicotte, Dickie Kerr, Urban Faber and Ted Lyons. Schalk's career batting average of .253 is the lowest of any position player in the Hall of Fame. That he was selected by the Veterans Committee for enshrinement in is largely a tribute to his outstanding defensive skills and to the fact that he played to win the infamous 1919 World Series for the White Sox. Schalk and pitcher Red Faber started 306 games as a battery, fourth-most of any such duo since 1900. Post-playing career Schalk became a coach for the Chicago Cubs in 1930 and 1931, and later managed the Buffalo Bisons in the Double-A International League from to . He also managed the Indianapolis Indians, the Oklahoma City Indians and the Milwaukee Brewers minor league teams. In , he became a scout for the Chicago Cubs. He was an assistant baseball coach at Purdue University for 18 seasons; on the staff of luminaries such as Ward Lambert and Hank Stram. He retired from baseball at 72. After his retirement as an active player for the MLB, Schalk invested in a successful bowling alley located in Evergreen Park, Illinois. He named the business "Schalk's Evergreen Towers". In 1948, Schalk, his wife Lavinia, and 34 others were taken down to the basement, locked inside various rooms, and held hostage inside the bowling alley by 6 armed robbers. After 2 hours of confinment and people passing out from lack of air inside the rooms, several pin-boys were able to knock a door down and free everyone. The robbers were never caught. In 1955, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. He was invited to catch the first ball of the 1959 World Series–the White Sox' first appearance in the World Series in 40 years–thrown out by fellow Hall of Fame member and former White Sox pitcher Red Faber. A museum in Nokomis, Illinois, is dedicated to Schalk and two other Hall of Famers, Jim Bottomley and Red Ruffing. The Little League ball fields in Litchfield,