Schwamb was nicknamed "Blackie" while in grade school, due to his habit of wearing black clothing, a practice he adopted after watching Western movies and seeing the "bad guys" wearing black.: 21–22  He served in the United States Navy during World War II, receiving a bad conduct discharge after hitting an officer.: 3–5 
Schwamb first played in the minor leagues from 1947 to 1949; initially in the Arizona–Texas League and Northern League (both Class C) and later the American Association (Triple-A) and Southern Association (Double-A). In 1948, Schwamb pitched in 12 major league games (five starts) for the St. Louis Browns, recording one win and one loss, while compiling an 8.53 earned run average (ERA). His lone win came in his second start, when he pitched .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}6+1⁄3 innings at home against the Washington Senators while allowing six runs (five earned) on eight hits, benefitting from his team scoring seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Schwamb had three hits in 10 major league at bats and scored one run.
After the 1948 season, Schwamb killed a doctor in Long Beach, California, named Donald Buge. Schwamb did it to pay off a debt to a Los Angeles mobster, Mickey Cohen. Schwamb was sentenced to life in prison in 1949, but was granted parole in 1960.

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