Christopher Schultz (February 16, 1960 – March 4, 2021) was a Canadian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He primarily played with the CFL Toronto Argonauts. Schultz played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the University of Arizona. He was a sportscaster with Canadian sports television channel

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Early years

Schultz attended Aldershot High School in

Burlington, Ontario Burlington is a city in the Regional Municipality of Halton at the northwestern end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Canada. Along with Milton to the north, it forms the western end of the Greater Toronto Area and is also part of the Hamilton met ...

, where he was a part of 2 football championships. He also practiced basketball. He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Arizona. He was recruited by Arizona head coach Tony Mason as a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

, where he played his first three years. One of the strongest players on the team, he was converted into a left tackle as a senior.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Schultz was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the seventh round (189th overall) of the

1983 NFL draft The 1983 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York She ...

. He was also selected by the

Arizona Wranglers The Arizona Wranglers were a professional American Football team in the United States Football League that, name-wise, existed from late 1982 to mid-1985. They played at Sun Devil Stadium on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, a su ...

in the

1983 USFL Territorial Draft The 1983 USFL Territorial Draft was the first Territorial Draft of the United States Football League (USFL). It took place on January 4, 1983, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an ...

. On August 21,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, he was placed on the injured reserve list. He was activated later in the year and played in 5 games on special teams. In

, he was lost for the season after injuring his right knee in the third preseason game. After only playing in 5 games with no starts during his first two years, in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Phil Pozderac Philip Maurice Pozderac (born December 19, 1959) is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame. Early years Pozderac attended ...

injured his knee during the third game of the season, which opened the door for Schultz to start at left tackle, only to return to a backup role when Pozderac was healthy. He eventually regained the starting position from the thirteenth game until the playoffs, but struggled while playing against the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. He was waived on August 26,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

Toronto Argonauts

, Schultz returned to Canada to play for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL), who owned his rights after drafting him in the first round of the

1982 CFL Draft The 1982 CFL Draft composed of six rounds where 72 Canadian football players were chosen from eligible Canadian universities and Canadian players playing in the NCAA. A total of 18 players were selected as territorial exemptions, with every team m ...

. He played in 124 games for the Argos over his nine-year career. Schultz was named a CFL All-Star twice (

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

), appeared in the Grey Cup in

and was a member of the 1991 Grey Cup championship team. In 2007, he was named to the Argonauts All-time team.

Broadcasting career

Schultz was a CFL football sportscaster on The Sports Network from 1998 to 2017. He also co-hosted a weekly one-hour sports radio program on

TSN 1050 CHUM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, broadcasting on 1050 kHz. The station is owned and operated by Bell Media. CHUM's studios are co-located with The Sports Network, TSN at 9 Channel Nine Court in the Agincourt, Toronto, A ...

in Toronto, called ''Football Sunday'' with Mike Hogan during the CFL and NFL seasons. He was also the NFL Insider for

. Schultz was announced as a member of the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

2023 class on March 16, 2023, in the media wing.

Personal life

On October 17, 2016, Schultz was part of a class inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel, where he spoke on the influence his father had on him. Schultz died of a heart attack on March 4, 2021, at the age of 61.

References

External links

Giant Schultz Gives America's Team' A Canadian Flavor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Chris 1960 births 2021 deaths American football offensive tackles Arizona Wildcats football players Canadian Football League announcers Canadian football offensive linemen Canadian people of German descent Players of American football from Ontario Canadian radio sportscasters Canadian television sportscasters Dallas Cowboys players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Burlington, Ontario Toronto Argonauts players