He never won a pennant, but Schmelz was a highly respected manager. He believed the most important factor in success was the players’ confidence, in themselves, one another, and the manager. He had a big, thick beard and supposedly gave signals by pointing with it. An opponent of the Brotherhood League, he advocated banning for life all who played in it. Schmelz gave John Heydler his start in baseball. When an assigned umpire failed to appear for a game, Schmelz called Heydler out of the stands to substitute. Heydler went on to become a regular umpire and eventually rose to NL president.