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Schultz, Buddy

Buddy Schultz

Induction Year : 2010

Sport: Baseball

Buddy Schultz inspired the Ohio High School Athletic Association to make a major rules change for the state baseball tournament after he pitched Shaw to the state championship in 1968. Because of rain, the state semi-finals and championship games were played on the same day, back to back, and Buddy pitched every inning of both games. In the first game the hard-throwing lefthander crafted a three-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts. In the second game he threw a two-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts. Before another tournament was played the OHSAA adopted a rule limiting the number of innings a pitcher is permitted to throw on one day. It is called the “Buddy Schultz Rule.”

Buddy pitched seven of Shaw’s eight tournament games that year and did not allow an earned run.

One of the greatest athletes in the storied history of Shaw High School, he lettered in three sports. In football he was an all-scholastic quarterback with a record of 15-1-1 in games in which he started. In baseball he was a starting pitcher for four years. In successive years he was all-league, all-scholastic and all-state.

Buddy went on to set five pitching records at Miami of Ohio and after 38 years he still holds two of them. One is likely to stand forever — 26 strikeouts in a nine-inning game.

While playing summer baseball for the Gardner Realty team in the Lakewood A League, Buddy broke Bob Feller’s strikeout record in the AABC national tournament in Battle Creek, Mich. Buddy struck out 18 in 8 1/3 innings.

He went on to pitch in the Major Leagues with the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals from 1975 to 1979. He retired with a five-year record of 15-9, 12 saves and 3.68 earned run average. He lives in Phoenix and owns a marketing and promotion company.