Tuesday, October 31, 2006 
Mercy College Inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame Spotlight - Jim Schult
(This is the fourth article in a series about the Mercy College Inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame inductees)
DOBBS FERRY, NY - On Friday, November 10, Mercy College will enshrine the inaugural class into its Athletics Hall of Fame at a dinner and awards ceremony to be held at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains, NY. Among the five inductees is former baseball slugger Jim Schult (East Fishkill, NY).
A 1981 graduate, Schult came from a baseball family. His father Art Schult played many years in the major leagues for the Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs and Washington Senators, and his brother Ray went on to play for Pace.
With that pedigree, Schult first made a name for himself at Westlake High School in Thornwood. He helped the Wildcats to a 14-2 record in 1976, and a Central Western Baseball League title as they advanced to the state sectionals. Schult was honored that year by earning All-CWL, All-County, and All-American accolades.
Prior to Mercy, Schult attended Westchester Community College, where he was an All-Conference selection and helped his squad to a Mid-Hudson Conference crown.
Schult, a power-hitting outfielder who hit legendary home runs, joined the Flyers for the 1980 season. Along with his power, he had great speed and a career batting average over .470, playing an integral role on two of the strongest baseball teams under head coach Rick Wolff.
Schult
batted .406 in 1980, scoring 33 times, driving in 11 runs on 39
hits, including six doubles, three triples and two home runs.
He had a .594 slugging percentage, a .486 on base percentage, stole
20 bases in 24 attempts, and struck out only nine times all season.
Later that summer, Schult batted .454 with 12 home runs, 67 runs
batted in, and 84 runs in 64 games for the New Rochelle Robins, one
of the most successful amateur organizations in the New York
Metropolitan area.
He followed up by putting together arguably the best offensive season in Mercy College baseball history in 1981, leading the nation with a .541 batting average. In 98 at bats, Schult collected 102 total bases for a remarkable slugging percentage of 1.041, and struck out only 10 times. That year he had 53 hits, including eight doubles, four triples and a team record 11 home runs. He also walked 27 times to post a .640 on base percentage, was a perfect 21-for-21 in stolen base attempts and scored 55 runs, as he was named to the New York State All-Star Team.
Schult was then selected by the Texas Rangers in the 33rd round of the 1981 Major League draft. He is currently employed as a sales representative for R.E. Michel Company. He and his wife, Jean, a teacher in Somers, currently reside in East Fishkill, New York. Jean and Jim have two sons, Jimmy and Jeffrey.
About the Mercy College Athletics Hall of Fame
The Mercy College Athletics Hall of Fame was established to honor those student-athletes, coaches, athletics administrators, and friends who have made outstanding contributions to Mercy College intercollegiate athletics and have helped bring recognition, honor and distinction to Mercy College and its athletics programs.
Mercy College will hold its inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner and Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 10, at the Crowne Plaza in White Plains, NY. The program's first inductees will be former athletics director Neil Judge (Stratford, CT), men's soccer player Paul Woodley (Tarrytown, NY), women's basketball player Stacey Gillespie (Duluth, GA), baseball player Jim Schult (East Fishkill, NY), and former women's basketball coach Carol Schachner Leib (White Plains, NY).
Mercy College will also present the Dr. Ann Grow Friend of Athletics Award to Dr. Thomas Milton and his wife Marie Milton. Newton Carnegie (Kingston, Jamaica) and Robert Ward (Dublin, Ireland) of the men's soccer team, Camele Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica) of the women's volleyball team, and Zoya Pochinka (Bronx, NY) of the cross country/track & field team will receive the Neil Judge Scholar Athlete Awards for the last two years, presented to the male and female graduating student-athletes with the highest cumulative grade point average.
There will be a cocktail reception beginning at 6:30 p.m., followed by dinner and the awards ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Individual tickets are $75 per person. For information on the Athletics Hall of Fame and Awards Dinner, please contact Drew Brown at (914) 674-7281 or via email at dbrown@mercy.edu. Details can also be found at http://www.mercyathletics.com/.
