Mathes spent 68 years in professional baseball, calling everyone he met along the way “Hustler.” He joined the Cardinals’ scouting staff in 1936 after an inconsequential ML playing career and two decades in the minors as a player and manager. Mathes convinced Branch Rickey to make an outfielder out of sore-armed pitcher Stan Musial. He remained with the Cardinals until 1958, and returned from 1964 to 1976, after brief stints with the Tigers, Giants, and Mets. He signed Red Schoendienst after he had been overlooked at a tryout camp.
