Henry Martin Schmidt was a professional baseball pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 for the Brooklyn Superbas

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

 during the 1903 season. A star in the minor leagues, was acquired by Brooklyn and won 22 games during his single season there. The Superbas wanted him back for 1904, but he declined, sending a note to the team (with the unsigned contract for the 1904 season) that declared, "I do not like living in the East and will not report."

He returned to the Pacific Coast League

Pacific Coast League

The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...

 and continued his career in the minors.
After his baseball career he reportedly made a living selling fabrics. He was known throughout Texas as "Flannel".

Henry Schmidt was referenced in the motion picture Off the Black

Off the Black

Off the Black is a 2006 American drama film starring Nick Nolte and Trevor Morgan. It was written and directed by James Ponsoldt, who also has a small role in the film, and is his feature directorial debut.-Plot synopsis:...

starring Nick Nolte and Timothy Hutton. Nolte shares Schmidt's story as a life lesson with a young man that he has befriended.