- Date Of Death: September 6, 2015
- State: New Jersey
George Warren “Barney” Schultz, 89, died Sunday, September 6, 2015, at Lourdes Medical Center, Willingboro, with his daughter Barbara in attendance. He had lived in Edgewater Park for 50 years before moving to Mt. Laurel in 2010.
He was currently residing in Cinnaminson. His nickname “Barney” had been given to him by an uncle and it stuck through his life. Mr. Schultz was born in Beverly in 1926. He was predeceased by his parents Leo Philip Schultz and Madeline Rose (Ashton) Schultz, and his brothers Leo and John. After graduating from Burlington High School in 1944, he began a long career in baseball as a pitcher, beginning with the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He later played for the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs.
As a reliever he became known for his knuckleball. He had his best year in 1964 and was instrumental in the St. Louis Cardinals’ drive to the National League pennant, pitching the final out against the New York Mets to win the pennant. He ended the 1964 season with an ERA of 1.64 and 14 saves. He appeared in four games of the 1964 World Series as the Cardinals defeated the New York Yankees. After his playing career ended, he served as Minor League Pitching Instructor and Major League Pitching Coach for the Cardinals. In the early 1980s he served two years in Japan as pitching coach for the Nankai Hawks.
Until his death he was still receiving many requests for autographs. In 1988 he was inducted into the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame and has been mentioned in several books on baseball. He had enjoyed golf, Atlantic City casinos, playing cards, watching the Phillies on TV and spending time with his large extended family. He had been a member of St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, Beverly, all of his life.
He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Frances (nee Elder), his sons George W. Jr. (Miki) of Cinnaminson, Paul A. (Terry) of Wilmington, DE and his daughter Barbara of Westampton. He is also survived by 6 grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren, several nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
