1953 Topps Project - Bob Schultz

After three new additions to my 1953 Topps set in January, last month saw just one measly card added.  I'd like to get a few more knocked out this month, so here's the first...

In what is becoming a very common theme for these posts, Bob's career got off to a late start due to the fact that he served with the US military in WWII.  Between that conflict and his time in the minor leagues, Schultz didn't make his first big league appearance until age 27 in 1951.  In 17 appearances (including 10 starts) he turned in an underwhelming 3-6 record with a 5.24 ERA and a nearly 2:1 walk to strikeout ratio (no, I do not mean strikeout to walk, I mean walk to strikeout).  Despite these numbers, Bob apparently impressed enough to earn a full time spot for the 1952 season.

In that full season, Schultz still struggled with walks but he did reverse his win/loss record from the season prior to 6-3 as well as shave over a point off of his ERA.  The Cubs decided to move on from him anyway and dealt him to the Pirates in June of 1953 (the trade that brought Ralph Kiner to the Cubs!).  He finished out the year with Pittsburgh, didn't play in 1954, and completed his MLB career with a single appearance in 1955 for the Tigers (where he gave up 3 earned runs in 1.1 innings of work).

Bob passed away at age 55 in 1979, and if Wikipedia is to be believed he was shot during an argument outside a VFW in Tennessee...

Set Progress:  66 of 274 (24%)