Schwamb was nicknamed "Blackie" while in
grade school, due to his habit of wearing black clothing, a practice he adopted after watching
Western movies and seeing the
"bad guys" wearing black. receiving a bad conduct
discharge after hitting an officer.
Professional baseball career Schwamb first played in the
minor leagues from 1947 to 1949; initially in the
Arizona–Texas League and
Northern League (both
Class C) and later the
American Association (
Triple-A) and
Southern Association (
Double-A). when he pitched innings at home against the
Washington Senators while allowing six runs (five
earned) on eight hits, benefitting from his team scoring seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Schwamb had three hits in 10 major league
at bats and scored one run.
Murder conviction After the 1948 season, Schwamb killed a doctor in
Long Beach, California, named Donald Buge. Schwamb did it to pay off a debt to a Los Angeles mobster,
Mickey Cohen. Schwamb was sentenced to life in prison in 1949, but was granted
parole in 1960. In 1961, Schwamb played a final season of minor league baseball for the
Hawaii Islanders of the
Pacific Coast League. Overall, in four seasons of professional baseball, Schwamb pitched in 62 games while compiling a 13–15 record with a 4.44 ERA. His life is the subject of a 2005 book entitled
Wrong Side of the Wall. In 1950 he played for the
San Quentin All-Stars, a recreational baseball program for the prison’s inmates, and was a sensation. Eric Stone in his book,
Wrong Side of the Wall: The Life of Blackie Schwamb, the Greatest Prison Baseball Player of All Time wrote:"Blackie was achieving the success he’d always wanted. The problem was that it was far from the limelight."When Schwamb was released at age 34, he pitched for the
Hawaii Islanders of the
Pacific Coast League in six games with a record of 1-2. ==References==