That’s The Honorable Justice Harry E. Schirick, who for 29 years was a New York State Supreme Court Justice representing the 3rd District.

The fifth of six kids, Harry Ernest Schirick was born 15 June 1890 in Ruby, New York to Eustace and Catherine (Wagner) Schirick, the Schirick family moved to Kingston, New York Eustace, a German immigrant, would open a grocery store. Harry attended the local schools from elementary through high school. Schirick next went to Cornell, where he was a smallish (5 – 8, 160) catcher but named captain of his team. Hughie Jennings coached him and recommended Schirick to Branch Rickey, who was the manager of the St. Louis Browns.

Rickey took the kid in, gave him a contract, and Schirick sat on the bench during the games but got to practice with the pros. Toward the end of the season, in a game that was woefully out of reach, Rickey let Schirick pinch hit against Washington lefty Jack Bentley. Schirick drew a walk and took second and third base – he is credited with two stolen bases but it is equally likely that it was defensive indifference. No matter – he was stranded on third base when the game ended.

Offered a chance to go to the minors, Schirick heeded the advice of his parents and took up the law. Within years, he was an active member of the Democratic Party, spent about fifteen years with Frank Brooks’ law firm, and eventually was named a state supreme court justice.

He never lost his love for baseball, though. In 1921, Schirick organized a semi-professional baseball team in his home town of Kingston. The Colonels were initially stocked with local talent, but the shrewd, clever, and persuasive lawyer would hire players from all over to join the team – college stars or other semi-professional players who happened to have good days in Kingston. To help defray expenses, he would have players (and himself) walk around the park with a hat to collect donations.

In time, the reputation of the Kingston Colonels (and their manager) was such that major league teams would schedule exhibitions in Kingston. Ed Walsh, the Hall of Famer, was running a team in Oneonta and pitched against Kingston in 1921 – one of the last times Walsh pitched. If a Colonel had a good day against the pros, he might be signed to a contract. For example, Bud Culloton had a fine outing against the Pirates and wound up spending four years in the Pittsburgh system. The Colonels, however, didn’t survive the 1920s, and Schirick’s involvement in baseball was then surpassed by his requirements as a city and supreme court judge.

Schirick was remembered as a firm but fair man on the bench – able to make good decisions based on both the law and his own humanity. Schirick never married and left behind no children, but he still left behind quite the baseball legacy in his hometown.

He passed away on November 12, 1968 and his buried near family in Mount Marion Cemetery in Saugerties, New York.

Notes:

1905 New York Census
1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 US Census

“Harry Schirick, 78, Dies; On Court Bench 26 Years,” Kingston Daily Freeman, November 12, 1968: 1.

Tiano, Charles J. “Tiano’s Topics,” Kingston Daily Freeman, 10 December 1968: 19.

“Original Colonels – A Kingston Baseball Legend,” Kingston Daily Freeman,18 October 1971: Page A-4.

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