Originally posted by SavoyBG
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Plate Appearances
1) McGuire: 6932
2) Schang: 6423
3) Farrell: 6254
4) Schalk: 6217
5) Hartnett: 5950
6) O'Connor: 5780
7) Robinson: 5419
8) Bresnahan: 5374
9) Ruel: 5292
10) Zimmer: 5076
11) O'Farrell: 4792
12) Severeid: 4787
13) Peitz: 4635
14) Kling: 4640
15) Wingo: 4372
16) Bennett: 4310
17) Warner: 3824
18) Dickey: 3799
19) Snyder: 3737
20) Ferrell: 3615
21) Meyers: 3226
22) Gowdy: 3143
Games Caught
1) Schalk: 1727
2) McGuire: 1611
3) Cochrane: 1451
4) Hartnett: 1465
5) Schang: 1435
6) Ruel: 1410
7) O'Farrell: 1338
8) Robinson: 1316
9) Zimmer: 1239
10) Wingo: 1233
11) Severeid: 1225
12) Kling: 1168
13) Warner: 1032
14) Bresnahan: 974
15) Peitz: 960
16) Bennett: 954
17) Dickey: 923
18) Meyers: 911
19) Gowdy: 893
20) Ferrell: 891
21) Snyder: 877
22) O'Connor: 860
Schang would appear to be about as durable as any catcher has been to this point in the game's history. Further, his 117 OPS+, over what was a long career for a catcher, is a good chunk ahead of most every other catcher who played prior to the Hartnett/Cochrane/Dickey trio. Catchers would typically struggle just to get an OPS+ that approached 100 for a season, let alone for an entire career, and Schang put up 117 in what has to date been one of the longest careers for a catcher. I think he's done enough.
I also think the Win Shares feat you mentioned is very much in Schang's favor. Considering catchers typically have short careers to this point in history, to make the first and second Win Shares All Star teams in two different decades is a pretty impressive accomplishment.
I think you might be viewing Schang too much with 2009 eyes (given that you said "It would be nice to find an overlooked hall of famer here," implying that he's been overlooked by Cooperstown). By our standards and the history of the game through 1936, Schang would appear, IMO, to be a worthy choice.
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