Barney, A Pro Since 1944

Did you know that Barney has been a pro since 1944?  I didn't until I saw this on the back of a card..

...and if its on a card, it must be true!

OK, so it's not Darwin Barney....not even Topps can mess up that much.

It's Barney Schultz, born in 1926, that's been a pro since 1944.

It took him 11 years to make the bigs, finally making it with the Cardinals in 1955.  It wasn't until 1961, at age 34, that Schultz finally spent an entire season in the majors.  He hung around with the Cubs and later back to the Cardinals, through the 1965 season.

After retiring, he was a minor league pitching instructor in the Cardinals organization.  Later, he became their pitching coach and also had a one  year stint as the Cubs pitching coach.