Charlie Shoemaker

Who was Charlie Shoemaker?

Charles Landis Shoemaker was an American professional baseball player. A native of Los Angeles, California, he appeared as a second baseman in parts of three Major League Baseball seasons for the Kansas City Athletics. He batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 155 pounds.

Shoemaker attended high school in Montebello, California, where he was a top athlete, and then the University of Arizona. He led Arizona to second place at the College World Series in 1959 and third in 1960. He was a three time All-American. In 1961, he attained the rare distinction of earning All-American honors at two different positions. Over his college career, he led the Wildcats in at bats, hits, triples and stolen bases. He was named to the 1950s All-Decade Team and inducted to the University of Arizona Hall of Fame in 1991. At the time of his induction, he still held the team record for triples in a season and in a career and was fifth in strike-out/at-bat ratio for a season, having struck out only six times in 1961. Upon graduation, his coach, Frank Sancet, called him the best college infielder he had ever seen.