Schultz was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1944 after playing at Burlington City High School.[1] Throughout much of his career, Schultz lived in Beverly with his wife and children, working in the off season as a carpenter and haberdasher.[2]
Schultz was strictly a relief pitcher, appearing in 227 games without any starts. He was an early specialist in the knuckleball. He had two good years with the Cubs, then was traded to the Cardinals where he had his best season, 1964, with 14 saves (a significant quantity in those days) and a 1.64 earned run average. Probably his most visible moment was in Game 3 of the 1964 World Series, in which he gave up a game-winning home run to Mickey Mantle in the nationally televised Saturday game. However, he had been credited with a save in Game 1, and the Cardinals ultimately won the Series in seven games.
Cardinals' utility catcher Bob Uecker was sometimes called upon to catch when Schultz was brought in to pitch. It was from that experience that Uecker drew some of his material when joking about the difficulties of catching the knuckleball.
After his playing career ended, Schultz was the Cardinals' roving minor league pitching instructor from 1967 to 1970 and Major League pitching coach from 1971 to 1975. He was a member of the Chicago Cubs' coaching staff in 1977.
^Staff. "Catching up with ...... Burlington City's Barney Schultz", Burlington County Times, June 12, 2005. Accessed May 22, 2012. "Schultz was one of three Burlington High baseball teammates from the 1940s to go on to play major-league ball. Eddie Miksis, who died in April at age 78, played 14 seasons as a utility infielder. Sam Calderone was a reserve catcher for the New York Giants and Milwaukee Braves in the early 1950s."
