Schoendienst was born in Germantown, Illinois, approximately 40 miles (64 km) east of downtown St. Louis to Joe and Mary Schoendienst, one of seven children. His father was a coal miner, and the family lived without running water or electricity. Schoendienst showed a marked aptitude for baseball at a young age. In school he would handicap himself by hitting left-handed.

Keane resigned the day following the Cardinals' 1964 World Series victory over the Yankees, and Schoendienst was named as his replacement. Three years later, the Cardinals defeated the Boston Red Sox--Schoendienst's fourth World Series title, and third as a Cardinal. His managerial record over 12 full seasons (1965-76) and two subsequent stints as interim manager (1980 and 1990) was 1,041 victories and 955 defeats (.522). After two years as a coach for the 1977-78 Oakland Athletics, Schoendienst returned to the Cardinals as coach and special assistant to the general manager. He won his fifth Series title in 1982. He remains an employee of the Cardinals organization with the title of Special Assistant Coach, and in 2017 completed his 72nd consecutive season as a Major League player, coach, or manager.  Schoendienst was a member of five winning World Series teams, all of which were won in seven games: as a player with the Cardinals and Braves in 1946 and 1957 respectively; as the Cardinals manager in 1967; and as a Cardinals coach in 1964 and 1982. He was also a member of three teams that lost the Series after leading three games to one: the 1958 Milwaukee Braves (to the Yankees), the 1968 Cardinals (to the Detroit Tigers), and the 1985 Cardinals (to the Kansas City Royals).  Schoendienst was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989 by the Veterans Committee. The Cardinals retired his number 2 in 1996. In 1998 he was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. The Cardinals named Schoendienst, among 21 other former players and personnel, to be inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum for the inaugural class of 2014.

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