of his physical toughness. He did not use shinguards during games. Using only his fists, he could hammer nails through a floorboard. Accompanying his teammates to a carnival on one occasion, he had a wrestling match with a bear, pinning the animal in place by the end of the fight. He likely would have played MLB baseball longer had he not suffered many fractures sustained of his thumb and fingers during his career. Return to minor leagues After his major league career ended, Schmidt continued to play in the minor leagues for another 15 years. With Providence in 1912, he batted .342 in 132 games, telling Cobb after the season he felt better physically than he had in several years. Schmidt also had stints with the Mobile Sea Gulls (1913–1916), Vernon Tigers (1916), Memphis Chickasaws (1917), Sioux City Indians (1919), Tulsa Oilers (1919), Fort Smith Twins (1920–1921), Atlanta Crackers (1921–1922), Springfield Midgets (1924), and Kalamazoo Celery Pickers (1926). He served as a player-manager at Mobile (1915–1916), Sioux City (1917, 1919), Fort Smith (1920–1921), Springfield (1924), and Kalamazoo (1926). He also managed the Quincy Red Birds in 1927. Personal life and later years Schmidt's younger brother, Walter Schmidt, was also a major league catcher, playing for the Pirates from 1916 to 1924. The nickname "Boss" is usually attributed to Schmidt's characteristic take-charge attitude when he played ballgames. Some newspapers attributed it to his dominance of prizefights, and other reporters thought it originated during his service in the coal mines. After his major league career ended, Schmidt was employed as a coach for the Brooklyn Robins of the National League in 1923, an umpire in the Pacific Coast League in 1925, a manager at Quincy in 1927, an umpire in the Atlantic League in 1928, and a coach for the Detroit Tigers in 1929. In the early 1930s, he worked for Ford Motor Company in Detroit and managed the Walkerville baseball team of the Michigan–Ontario League in 1932. Schmidt died suddenly in November 1932 in Altus, Arkansas. The cause of death was an intestinal obstruction. Upon hearing of his friend's death, Cobb wept, saying, "In all my years in baseball, I don't think I ever saw anyone tougher than my old friend Charlie Schmidt. I will always remember him fondly." The ex-catcher was buried at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Altus. His grave was unmarked for over 30 years. When the Tigers