Schroeder (Peanuts)

Schroeder is a fictional character in the long-running comic strip Peanuts, created by Charles M. Schulz. He is distinguished by his prodigious skill at playing the toy piano, as well as by his love of classical music in general and the composer Ludwig van Beethoven in particular. Schroeder is also the catcher on Charlie Brown's baseball team, though he is usually seen walking back to the pitcher's mound with the baseball, never throwing it—admitting in one strip he did not want the other team to discover his lack of ability. He is also the object of the unrequited infatuation of Lucy Van Pelt, who constantly leans on Schroeder's piano. Charlie Brown, Frieda, Peppermint Patty, and Snoopy are occasionally depicted leaning on Schroeder's piano.

Aside from Linus and Snoopy, Schroeder is Charlie Brown's closest friend; he once angrily berated Violet Gray for giving Charlie Brown a used valentine well after Valentine's Day had come and gone, saying he had feelings and deserved better, only for Charlie Brown to eagerly accept it. Schroeder also joined Linus in chastising the girls (Lucy, Patty, Violet and Frieda) and Snoopy in Charlie Brown's All-Stars, when it was discovered Charlie Brown refused to remove the girls and Snoopy from his baseball team just to get new uniforms. He also is one of the few players who has any respect for Charlie Brown as a manager; though he is as capable of ire at Charlie Brown's poor performance as anyone else, such instances are rare. In one game, when Frieda asked Schroeder "Wouldn't you like just once to see Charlie Brown hit that ball?", Schroeder's calm reply was "No, I am not prepared to have the world come to an end".

In honor of Schroeder's passion for Beethoven, the Charles M. Schulz Museum (Santa Rosa) and the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies announced the launching in December 2009 of a permanent online exhibit of 60 of the 300 Schulz cartoons that involve Schroeder and Beethoven.