Complex sentence: Devine was born in St. Louis, and attended the city's University City High School and Washington University and played basketball and semiprofessional baseball; before joining the Cardinals in 1939 as an office boy and batting practice pitcher.
Split into simpler sentences: Devine was born in St. Louis, and attended the city's University City High School and Washington University. He played college basketball and semiprofessional baseball; before joining the Cardinals in 1939 as an office boy and batting practice pitcher.