The Indianapolis Indians are enjoying another winning season as they celebrate the tenth anniversary of Victory Field. Much has changed on the local baseball landscape over the years, but the Schumacher family remains the driving force for the Tribe.
Max Schumacher's day at the office usually includes a leisurely stroll around the ballpark. Now in his 50th season with the Indianapolis Indians, it's one of the perks that comes with the title of President and Chairman of the board.
"It's when you can go someplace that it's fun to go to every day to go to work, I think that's a great gift to have for a career," he said.
It's so much fun that two of Max's sons are following in their 73-year-old dad's footsteps. Bruce Schumacher spends his nights behind the public address microphone. He's also the club's director of corporate development. If you pay a visit to the gift shop, chances are you'll bump into Mark Schumacher, director of merchandising.
"It's certainly not family time. We're here to help run a business and the business happens to be baseball," Mark said.
Max Schumacher's career path included stints as ticket manager and general manager. The Indians have enjoyed several championships along the way. He passed
up opportunities to move onto the big leagues so he could raise his family in his hometown.
It should come as no surprise that an organization with strong family ties places a lot of importance on the family experience at the ball park. Like the Schumacher's, they're hoping you'll fall in love with the game at an early age.
Thanks to the Max Schumacher, baseball has a secure future in Indianapolis and it's safe to say his influence will remain for generations to come.
"I know he always likes to say a lot of different things - try to turn a negative into a positive whenever you can; he said that he'd rather have a handshake with someone he could trust than a contract with someone he couldn't," said Bruce.
"Maybe good advice for young people to not think about so much about what your next job will be but just do the very best job you can on what you're assigned to do and the future will take care of itself. It certainly did for me," said Max.
