Goolsby was born in Florala, Alabama, and his family moved to Central Florida in 1925 when he turned six. He entered pro ball in 1939 and played three seasons in the Florida State League, then a Class D circuit at the lowest level of Organized Baseball. In 1942, he joined the U.S. military; his obituary states that he served in the United States Navy, but, according to Baseball in Wartime, he served in the United States Army.
In 1946, the first postwar season, MLB rosters were temporarily expanded to accommodate returning military veterans resuming their baseball careers; teams carried 36 players until June 15. Goolsby broke spring training camp with Washington and appeared in three mid-April games: on the 18th and 19th as a pinch hitter, and on the 22nd as the Senators' starting left fielder. In those three contests, he had four at bats without a hit, with one walk and one sacrifice. He then played the rest of the year at Double-A Chattanooga, hitting .306 in 99 games.
Goolsby, then 27, left baseball after the 1946 season. He worked in the citrus industry, rising to manager. He died in Apopka, Florida, at the age of 80. His wife was Lucy R. Goolsby (October 4, 1917 – October 20, 2015), whom he married November 1, 1940 in Apopka. He and his wife are buried in Highland Memory Gardens in Forest City, Florida.

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