David William Schultz (born October 14, 1949) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

businessman and former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

coach and player. As a player, he was a two-time

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

winner with the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

. Nicknamed "The Hammer", Schultz is renowned as one of hockey's best

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

s and holds the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

record for most penalty minutes in a single season, at 472. Schultz was born in

Waldheim, Saskatchewan Waldheim is a town of 1,035 residents in the rural municipality of Laird No. 404, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, located 57 km north of Saskatoon. Waldheim is located on Highway 312 in central Saskatchewan, the "Heart of the O ...

, but grew up in

Rosetown, Saskatchewan Rosetown is a town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, at the junction of provincial Highway 7 and Highway 4, approximately 115 km southwest of Saskatoon. The town's motto, "The Heart of the Wheat Belt" reflects its history of being ...

Playing career

Schultz was known as a point producer in junior hockey, but became an "enforcer" in his first year of pro hockey with the Salem Rebels of the EHL, prior to joining the Philadelphia Flyers, where he would become famous. Schultz earned the nickname "The Hammer" for his aggressive style of hockey. He was one of the most notable enforcers on the

' famous "Broad Street Bullies". After winning two

s with the Flyers (1973–74 and 1974–75), "The Hammer" drifted through several teams (

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

and

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

) in search of a permanent position. When GMs tried to find some "muscle" for their fledgling clubs, they thought of him. Schultz was also able to capitalize on his popularity as a player when he recorded a local Philadelphia hit song called "The Penalty Box" in the mid 1970s. Schultz could be more than an enforcer; he scored 20 goals for Philadelphia in 1973–74. He also scored the series-winning goal in overtime in the first round of the

1974 Stanley Cup playoffs Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

against the

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with t ...

. Despite his successes, Schultz later expressed regret about his role as an enforcer and the prominence of fighting in hockey. After injuring his wrist in a fight, Schultz once put boxing wraps on his hands for protection. As things usually went, Schultz had several fights in ensuing games, while wearing the wraps. However, soon after, enforcers in both the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

and

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

started wearing similar hand protection. This was not to protect an already injured hand/wrist, but to protect themselves from injury in a fight. Soon after this trick became popular, both the WHA and NHL passed what became known as the "Schultz Rule" — thus banning the boxing wraps' temporary involvement in professional ice hockey.

Post-playing career

After retiring as a player Schultz coached several minor league teams over the next two decades including the

Madison Monsters The Madison Monsters were a minor professional ice hockey team in the United Hockey League (UHL) based in Madison, Wisconsin, with home games in the Dane County Memorial Coliseum. The city of Madison was granted the franchise before the 1995� ...

Baton Rouge Kingfish The Baton Rouge Kingfish were a minor professional ice hockey team in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a member of the East Coast Hockey League. The franchise arrived in Baton Rouge in 1996 after relocating from Erie, Pennsylvania, where they had played ...

, and most recently the

Elmira Jackals The Elmira Jackals were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Elmira, New York. They were members of the United Hockey League from 2000 to 2007 and the ECHL from 2007 to 2017. The Jackals played their home games at First Arena. On ...

. Schultz co-authored a book entitled ''The Hammer'' with

Stan Fischler Stan Fischler (born March 31, 1932) is a historian of hockey and the New York City Subway, as well as a broadcaster, author, and professor. During his career, Fischler was best known for covering the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and New ...

that provides insights into the world of a professional ice hockey enforcer. In 1994, he served as referee at

WCW World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...

Slamboree Slamboree was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event from World Championship Wrestling (WCW) held from 1993 through 2000. It was originally billed as "A Legends' Reunion" because many retired legends from Jim Crockett Promotions attend ...

for the match between

The Nasty Boys The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags. The team were active from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawl ...

against Cactus Jack & Kevin Sullivan. In 2022, he voiced himself in

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

episode Top Goon.

Awards

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

'' *

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

- Stanley Cup ''Philadelphia Flyers'' *Inducted into Flyers Hall of Fame on November 16, 2009

Records

*Holds the NHL record for most penalty minutes in a season with 472 penalty minutes during the 1974–75 season.

Career statistics

Playing career

Figures in ''boldface italics'' are NHL records.

Coaching record

Source:

Filmography

References

External links

*
official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Dave 1949 births Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Living people Los Angeles Kings players People from Rosetown Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Flyers players Pittsburgh Penguins players Quebec Aces (AHL) players Richmond Robins players Rochester Americans players Salem Rebels (EHL) players Stanley Cup champions Canadian expatriate ice hockey people in the United States

Playing career

Post-playing career

Awards

Records

Career statistics

Playing career

Coaching record

Filmography

See also

References

External links