Early Days
Upon graduation from Fairview High School in Dayton, Ohio in 1967, Schmidt attended Ohio University in Athens, where he joined Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. Schmidt led the Ohio Bobcats baseball team to the College World Series in 1970, and was drafted by the Phillies in the second round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft with the 30th overall pick.
On June 11, 1971, he was signed by scout Tony Lucadello, who had followed him since Little League Baseball. Six days later, Schmidt made his professional debut in an exhibition game between the Phillies and the Reading Phillies in Reading. Schmidt played the whole game at shortstop for the Phillies and hit a game-winning home run against Reading. Along with shortstop and third base, Schmidt also played some second base in the minors.
Schmidt spent two seasons in the Phillies' farm system, where he batted .263 with 34 home runs and 122 runs batted in. He received a September call-up to the Phillies in 1972, and made his major league debut against the New York Mets on September 12. Four days later, Schmidt ended Montreal Expos pitcher Balor Moore's streak of 25 scoreless innings pitched with his first career home run.
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