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The Big League Pitcher Who Moonlighted In The Baseball Offseason As A Mob Enforcer
Ralph “Blackie” Schwamb was a promising right-handed pitcher who had a cup of coffee in the big leagues in 1948 when he was just 22. He never got back to the majors, which wasn’t because he didn’t have talent but because he spent more than a decade in prison after being convicted of killing a doctor to allegedly help pay off a debt he owed to a mobster.
At 6'5" and less than 200 pounds, Schwamb was the classic example of a lanky hurler. The native of California was no stranger to trouble even at an early age. As a child, he earned the nickname of “Blackie” because of his propensity of wearing black clothing in deference to the “bad guys” in Western movies he idolized. Even as a youth, he was prone to drinking and being involved in small-time crimes. He enrolled in the Navy during World War II, but ultimately was discharged for bad conduct after he was imprisoned on multiple occasions for going AWOL and then convicted of striking a superior officer.
Despite the red flags in his background, the pitching starved St. Louis Browns gave him a chance given his talent on the mound. He began his professional career in their minor league system in 1947, going a combined 8–3 with a 3.05 ERA at two different levels, pitching most of the year at the age of 20.
In 1948, the Browns brought Schwamb up for the second half of the season. He pitched sparingly, his performance punctuated by poor control. In 12 appearances (5 starts), he was 1–1 with an 8.53 ERA. In 31.2 innings, he coughed up 44 hits and 21 walks while striking out just seven batters. He also continued to drink heavily, sometimes pitching drunk and at least on one occasion allegedly polishing off a case of beer in the bullpen during a game.
Schwamb only appeared in three minor league games in 1949, collecting two wins. However, his life took a major turn for the worse and made baseball take a back seat.
Owing money to a mobster from Los Angeles named Mickey Cohen (who at one point ran a gambling operation for Al Capone in Chicago), Schwamb and another man, a 27–30-year-old (accounts vary) former marine and carpenter named Theodore Gardner killed Dr. Donald Buge, a 44-year-old physician in order to supposedly help pay off the pitcher’s debt.
