Schoendienst was an outstanding second baseman, he played for 19 years with the St. Louis Cardinals (1945–56, 1961–63), New York Giants (1956–57), and Milwaukee Braves (1957–60), and was named to 10 All Star teams. He then managed the Cardinals from 1965 through 1976 - the second-longest managerial tenure in the team's history (behind Tony La Russa).