Pius Schwert

Pius Schwert
Frontispiece of 1942'sPius Louis Schwert, Late a Representative
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNew York's42nddistrict
In office January 3, 1939 – March 11, 1941
Preceded by	James M. Mead
Succeeded by	John Cornelius Butler
County ClerkofErie County, New York
In office 1934–1938
Preceded by	John L. Staeber
Succeeded by	Henry J. Dixon
Personal details
Born	(1892-11-22)November 22, 1892 Angola, New York,US
Died	March 11, 1941(1941-03-11)(aged 48) Washington, D.C.,US
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Harriet
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1918–1919
Rank	Ensign
Baseball career
Catcher
Batted:Right Threw:Right
MLB debut
August 20, 1914, for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
October 7, 1915, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
Batting average	.208
Home runs	0
Runs batted in	6
Teams
New York Yankees(1914–1915)

Pius Louis Schwert(November 22, 1892 – March 11, 1941) was an American politician andprofessional baseballplayer. He played for theNew York YankeesofMajor League Baseballand was a member of theUnited States House of RepresentativesfromNew York's 42nd congressional district.

Schwert was fromAngola, New York.He attended theWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania,and playedcollege baseballfor thePenn Quakersas acatcher.He signed with the Yankees and played for them in the 1914 and 1915 seasons. He then continued his career in the minor leagues. Meanwhile, he opened a grocery store in his hometown ofAngola, New York,served in theUnited States Navy,and became president of the Bank of Angola.

A member of theDemocratic Party,Schwert was electedcounty clerkofErie Countyin 1933 and reelected in 1936. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1938 and reelected in 1940. Schwert died following a heart attack as he was giving a speech on March 11, 1941.

Early life

Schwert was born inAngola, New York,on November 22, 1892.He was the only child of Louisaand Julius Schwert, who was thetown supervisorofEvans, New York.He attended Angola High School in Angola,until he transferred toLafayette High SchoolinBuffalo, New York,in 1909.He played as acatcheron the baseball teams of both high schools, and playedsemi-professionalbaseball on the weekends. Schwert graduated from Lafayette in 1910.

Schwert with the Yankees

Schwert enrolled at theWharton School of Commerceat theUniversity of Pennsylvania.While enrolled at Penn, he was a member ofSigma Phi Epsilonand playedcollege baseballfor thePenn Quakersas a catcher. In his senior year, his teammates voted for him to be the teamcaptain.He had a.183batting averagein 26 games for the Quakers in 1914. Despite his poor batting average, his defensive abilities resulted in his being named to the "All-Consensus" team, a forerunner for theCollege Baseball All-America Team.Schwert graduated from Penn in 1914 with aBachelor of Sciencein economics.

Professional baseball career

After his graduation,Frank Chance,themanagerof theNew York YankeesofMajor League Baseball,signed Schwert to a contract.He made his major league debut on August 20. He played in three games for the Yankees in 1914, and did not have ahitin eightplate appearances.During the 1914–15 offseason, Schwert claimed that there was an error in his contract that made him afree agent.He was pursued by theCincinnati Reds,butBill Donovan,the Yankees' new manager, convinced him to sign a new contract with the Yankees. In 1915, Schwert was the third-string catcher behindJeff SweeneyandLes Nunamaker.Schwert played in four games for the Yankees before they demoted him to theJersey City Skeetersof theClass AAInternational League.He batted.214 in 31 games for Jersey City, was promoted to the Yankees towards the end of the season, and played in five more games for the Yankees. The game of October 7, 1915, was his last major league game. He played in 12 major league games,with a.208 batting average in 24at-bats.

After the 1915 season, theUniversity of the Southnamed Schwert their newathletic director.He opened a general store in Angola in 1916.With the Yankees, Schwert competed with Nunamaker,Roxy Walters,andWalt Alexanderfor a roster spot for the 1916 season, but he was demoted to theNewark Indiansof the International League, where he batted.232 in 84 games.Before the 1917 season, he informed teams that he was retired from baseball.TheMobile Sea Gullsof theClass ASouthern Associationpurchased him from Newark, and Schwert refused to report to Mobile.Mobile suspended him but still reserved him for the 1918 season.

In March 1918, Schwert enlisted in theUnited States Navy.He served first as ayeomanat theBremerton Navy Yard,and later he was commissioned as anensignat thePhiladelphia Naval Shipyard.In Philadelphia, he played for the 4th Naval District baseball team, which was managed byHarry Davis,and includedMorrie Rath,Jing Johnson,andBob Shawkey.He was discharged from the Navy at the end of the war.

Schwert returned to Angola in 1920, and played semi-professional baseball locally. When all three catchers for theBuffalo Bisonsof the International League were injured during the 1920 season, Schwert signed with Buffalo, and batted.496 in 14 games. He returned to the Bisons in 1921, under the agreement that he would only play for Buffalo in home games. He batted.262 in 29 games.He was released in April 1922 when he did not report to the team.He worked at the Bank of Angola, starting as a clerk and cashier, and working his way up to serve as its president.He remained involved in semi-professional sports, becoming the president of the Western New York League in 1929.

Political career

Schwert became involved in civic organizations in Angola. He was elected vice commander of theAmerican Legion,president of the Angola volunteer fire department and the Southwestern Volunteer Firemen's Association,and the master of themasonic lodgein Evans.In 1933, Schwert ran forcounty clerkofErie Countyas aDemocrat.He won the election to a three-year term, won reelection in 1936, and served from 1934 to 1938,

In 1938, Democrats needed to nominate a replacement candidate forJames M. MeadinNew York's 42nd congressional districtin theUnited States House of Representatives,after Mead was nominated to run for theUnited States Senate.Democratic Party members selected Schwert.He won the election,defeatingRepublicanJohn Cornelius Butler.Schwert was reelectedin 1940,beating Edward F. Moss.As a member of Congress, Schwert opposed the development of theSaint Lawrence Seawayand supported the development of harbors for boats in theSouthtownsand welfare programs and vocational training for youth.He supported providing aid to France and Great Britain during World War II.Schwert also wrote toGovernorHerbert H. Lehmanto advocate for the completion ofMcKinley Parkway.

Schwert's grave in Angola

Personal life and death

Schwert married Harriet "Hattie" Elizabeth Schwert, a distant cousin, on February 12, 1923.She was a teacher in Buffalo andEden, New York.They did not have children.

Schwert died inWashington, D.C.,on March 11, 1941. He attended a dinner party at the Annapolis Hotel and collapsed shortly after making a speech.In the speech, he was announcing his candidacy formayor of Buffalo.He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead of a heart attack.He was buried at Forest Avenue Cemetery in Angola. Schwert had survived a previous heart attack in 1940 that occurred when he was exercising in theUnited States Capitolgymnasium.

Harriet Schwert ran against Butler in thespecial electionto fill the remainder of Schwert's term in Congress.As she was still in mourning, Harriet did not campaign, with Mead making speeches on her behalf.Butler defeated Schwert in the election.

See also

• List of American sportsperson-politicians
• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–1949)

External links

• Career statistics and player information fromBaseball Reference,orBaseball Reference (Minors)
• United States Congress."Pius Schwert (id: S000162)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• U.S. House of Representatives (1942).Pius Louis Schwert, Late a Representative.Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office – viaHathiTrust.