On Wrestlemania weekend, a look at baseball players in wrestling

Abe “Knuckleball” Schwartz

We’ve seen baseball players mix it up with wrestlers, and a wrestler who tried his hand at baseball, but what about a wrestling baseball player?

Portrayed by Steve Lombardi (otherwise known as the Brooklyn Brawler), Abe “Knuckleball” Schwartz was a heel character at the time of the 1994 baseball strike, blaming fans for the labor situation. While Schwartz didn’t win too many matches during his brief tenure, the character, face painted white with “seams” like a baseball, remains one of the true “what were they thinking?” gimmicks of the cartoonish early 90’s WWF.