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Notable people · Sports

Mike Schmidt

Dayton-born Ohio University shortstop who became the Philadelphia Phillies' Hall of Fame third baseman, with 548 home runs, three MVP awards and ten Gold Gloves.

Born September 27, 1949, Dayton

Mike Schmidt
Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born
September 27, 1949, Dayton (Montgomery County) source
Also known as
Mike Schmidt, Schmitty
Known as
Sports

Mike Schmidt is living. This page covers their public life only, from published sources. Correct this page · hello@crackedbuckeye.com

Life story

Mike Schmidt was born in Dayton in 1949 and grew up around his family's Philipps Aquatic Club in North Dayton, where he worked as a lifeguard. Two knee operations ended his football and basketball careers at Fairview High School, and he walked on to the baseball team at Ohio University in Athens, where coach Bob Wren had him give up switch-hitting and he became a two-time All-American who led the Bobcats to their only College World Series, in 1970. The Phillies drafted him in the second round in 1971, and in 18 seasons, all in Philadelphia, he hit 548 home runs, won three National League MVP awards, ten Gold Gloves and the 1980 World Series MVP. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1995 with 96.5 percent of the vote. Announcing his retirement in 1989, he said he had left Dayton 18 years earlier with two bad knees and a dream, and Ohio University retired his No. 10 in 2014.

Ohio ties

  • Dayton (North Dayton) (1949-1967)
    birthplace and boyhood home; lifeguard at the family's Philipps Aquatic Club at Leo and Keowee streets Montgomery County · source
  • Fairview High School, Dayton (to 1967)
    three-sport athlete; graduated 1967 Montgomery County · source
  • Dayton (1968)
    led the National Amateur Baseball Federation summer league in home runs for the Parkmoor Restaurant team Montgomery County · source
  • Ohio University, Athens (1967-1971)
    walk-on shortstop under coach Bob Wren; two-time All-American; 1970 College World Series Athens County · source
  • Bob Wren Stadium, Athens (2014-present)
    his retired Ohio University No. 10 hangs on the left-field wall Athens County · source

Timeline

  1. 1949 Born September 27 in Dayton to Jack and Lois (Philipps) Schmidt. source
  2. 1967 Graduated from Fairview High School in Dayton after knee surgeries ended his football and basketball careers. source
  3. 1967 Made the Ohio University freshman baseball team as a walk-on shortstop. source
  4. 1970 Helped Ohio University reach its only College World Series and was named All-America shortstop. source
  5. 1971 Drafted by the Phillies in the second round, 30th overall, one pick after the Royals took George Brett, and signed on June 11 for $32,500. source
  6. 1972 Hit his first major league home run on September 16 at Veterans Stadium, with his parents up from Dayton to watch. source
  7. 1974 Led the major leagues with 36 home runs. source
  8. 1977 Inducted into the Ohio University Athletics Hall of Fame. source
  9. 1980 Won the National League MVP unanimously and was World Series MVP as the Phillies won their first championship. source
  10. 1987 Hit his 500th home run on April 18. source
  11. 1989 Announced his retirement in San Diego on May 29, saying he had left Dayton 18 years earlier with two very bad knees. source
  12. 1990 The Phillies retired his No. 20 on May 26. source
  13. 1995 Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot with 96.5 percent of the vote. source
  14. 2009 The Philipps Aquatic Club, run by his family since 1865, was sold and closed. source
  15. 2014 Ohio University retired his No. 10 at Bob Wren Stadium during Homecoming weekend in October. source

Stories

Swimming pools and ice cream

Schmidt's mother's family had been in the swimming business in Dayton since 1865, when Charles A. Philipps opened the Philipps Boat and Bath House, with a floating pool, on the Great Miami River near the Helena Street bridge. A dam break washed it away in 1899; the family rebuilt in 1901 in North Dayton, on Leo Street near Keowee, only to lose it again in the great Dayton flood of 1913. Rebuilt once more, the Philipps Aquatic Club was run by Lois and Jack Schmidt, along with Jack's Drive-In on the grounds, and their son worked summers there as a swimmer, diver and lifeguard. Schmidt later summed up the family business as swimming pools and ice cream. His sister Sally and her husband ran it until it was sold and closed in 2009.

Source

The walk-on with bad knees

Two knee operations ended Schmidt's football and basketball careers at Fairview High School, and as a senior he hit just .179 with one home run. He walked on to the Ohio University freshman team as a shortstop. Coach Bob Wren told him to stop switch-hitting and build up his legs, and he went from .260 as a freshman to .312, .333 and .331, with two 10-homer seasons that tied the school record. Phillies scout Tony Lucadello had followed him since high school and wanted him taken in the first round; the Phillies waited until the second, one pick after George Brett went to Kansas City.

Source

Four years and one quarter

Ohio University waited until October 2014 to retire Schmidt's No. 10, at a small gathering of about two dozen former teammates and fraternity brothers at Bob Wren Stadium during Homecoming weekend. The jersey went up on the left-field wall. Schmidt called his time in Athens four years and one quarter of his life and said it was the best of it. Athletic director Jim Schaus said there had never been a doubt the school would want to retire his number. Schmidt had made public earlier that year that he had been treated for melanoma, and said it made returning to Athens a priority.

Source

Sites to know

Homes, graves, markers, museums and monuments; the numbered ones are on the map.

12

Ohio places

Where Mike Schmidt was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Myths and corrections

Things often said about Mike Schmidt, and what the record shows.

Often said Schmidt went to Fairmont West High School in Kettering.

The record He attended and graduated (1967) from Fairview High School in Dayton; SABR states this explicitly. source

Documents

Primary records: patents, letters, court and government files, nominations and old county histories, each at the archive that holds it.

Pictures

Free to use with the credit shown. Select a picture for the original and its license.

  • Professional baseball player Mike Schmidt
    Professional baseball player Mike Schmidt
    Public domain
  • P04679-05 President Bush celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Little League Baseball on the South Lawn of the White House
    P04679-05 President Bush celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Little League Baseball on the South Lawn of the Wh...
    Public domain
  • Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt Pledged to Pool Safely with the Drowning Prevention Coalition Of Palm B
    Philadelphia Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt Pledged to Pool Safely with the Drowning Prevention Coalition...
    PoolSafely / CC BY 2.0
  • Mike Schmidt's plaque on the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame
    Mike Schmidt's plaque on the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame
    Peter Bond from Cincinnati, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Mike Schmidt
    Mike Schmidt
    Ken Lund from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Phillies Mike Schmidt-126
    Phillies Mike Schmidt-126
    Jon Gudorf Photography / CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Retired number of Mike Schmidt
    Retired number of Mike Schmidt
    KV5 • Squawk box • Fight on! / CC BY-SA 3.0
  • Mike Schmidt
    Mike Schmidt
    Zenos Frudakis / GFDL

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.

Every link goes to the original source. Profile researched 2026-10-15.

Correct this page · hello@crackedbuckeye.com