Christopher Schultz (February 16, 1960 – March 4, 2021) was a Canadian professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

(CFL). He primarily played with the CFL

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. Schultz played college football at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. ...

. He was a sportscaster with Canadian sports television channel TSN.

Early years

Schultz attended Aldershot High School in Burlington, Ontario, where he was a part of 2 football championships. He also practiced

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He accepted a football scholarship from the

. He was recruited by Arizona head coach Tony Mason as a defensive tackle, where he played his first three years. One of the strongest players on the team, he was converted into a

left tackle Tackle is a playing position in gridiron football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, ...

as a senior.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Schultz was selected by the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

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 ...

. He was also selected by the Arizona Wranglers in the 1983 USFL Territorial Draft. 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 As ...

, he was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He was activated later in the year and played in 5 games on

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

. 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 injured his knee during the third game of the season, which opened the door for Schultz to start at

, 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 Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

. 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 enter ...

Toronto Argonauts

, Schultz returned to Canada to play for the

of the

(CFL), who owned his rights after drafting him in the first round of the 1982 CFL Draft. 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 Airpor ...

, 1988), 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.

Personal life

Schultz was a CFL football sportscaster on

The Sports Network The Sports Network (TSN) is a Canadian English language sports specialty channel established by the Labatt Brewing Company in 1984 as part of the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels. Since 2001, it has been majority-owned by comm ...

. 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 TSN at 9 Channel Nine Court in the Agincourt neighbourhood of Scarborough ...

in Toronto, called ''Football Sunday'' with Mike Hogan during the CFL and NFL seasons. He was also the NFL Insider for TSN. On October 17, 2016, Schultz was part of a class inducted into the

Ontario Sports Hall of Fame The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame is an association dedicated to honouring athletes and personalities with outstanding achievement in sports in Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located ...

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 Canadian players of American football Canadian radio sportscasters Canadian television sportscasters Dallas Cowboys players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Sportspeople from Burlington, Ontario Toronto Argonauts players University of Arizona alumni