Eberle Hynson "Elbie" Schultz (December 23, 1917 – May 20, 2002) was an American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) from 1940 to 1947. An

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

lineman for

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

during his collegiate days, Schultz was drafted into the NFL in 1940 by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. He also played for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, and the

Rams In engineering, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS)1945 NFL Championship. During his years after the NFL he worked as a football coach, game official, and automobile dealer in

Eureka, California Eureka ( ; Wiyot: ; Hupa: ; ) is a city and the county seat of Humboldt County, located on the North Coast of California. The city is located on U.S. Route 101 on the shores of Humboldt Bay, north of San Francisco and south of the Oreg ...

Biography

Early years

Eberle Hynson Schultz, known to friends by the nickname "Elbie" in his younger years, was born December 23, 1917, in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

. He grew up in the historic town of

Oregon City Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

Collegiate career

The 6'4" Schultz attended

Oregon State College Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Benton County, Oregon, Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton Co ...

, where he was an

lineman for the collegiate football team in 1939, helping to lead the Beavers to a 9-1-1 record."Oregon State Football All-Americans: Eberle Schultz,"
Oregon State University Sports Information Department, pg. 186. Schultz became the 6th All-American in the history of the OSU football program. As was the case with most football players of his era, Schultz played on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, gaining particular accolades for his play as an offensive

left guard In American football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is an offensive line player who lines up between the center and the tackles. Like other offensive line positions, guards are used primarily for blocking. Right ...

. Schultz was also named the Beavers' "Most Aggressive Lineman" following the 1939 season and had his named inscribed at the top of the new Otto Sitton Memorial Plaque as a permanent remembrance of this honor. Schultz also briefly fought as an amateur

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

in the heavyweight division during his collegiate years, losing by decision in his first foray in the ring.

Professional career

Schultz was a draft pick of the National Football League's

in 1940, going in the fourth round as the league's 28th overall pick. Database Football, www.databasefootball.com/ Schultz played for a series of NFL teams during the decade of the 1940s, including the Eagles,

, and the

Rams In engineering, reliability, availability, maintainability and safety (RAMS)World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Schultz played for two teams composed of temporarily merged NFL franchises, including the "

Steagles The Steagles, officially known as the Phil-Pitt Combine, was the team created by the temporary merger of Pennsylvania's two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Philadelphia Eagles, during the 1943 season. The tw ...

" (members of the Steelers and Eagles) in 1943 and "

Card-Pitt Card-Pitt was the team created by the temporary merger of two National Football League (NFL) teams, the Chicago Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, during the 1944 season. It was the second such merger for the Steelers, who had combined with ...

" (members of the Steelers and the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

) in 1944. In October 1944, Schultz was at the epicenter of a brief player strike that rocked the Card-Pitt team. Together with star halfback Johnny Butler and fullback Johnny Grigas, Schultz was fined $200 by coaches

Walt Kiesling Walter Andrew Kiesling (May 27, 1903 – March 2, 1962) was an American professional football guard and coach who spent 36 years in the National Football League (NFL). He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and ...

and

Phil Handler Philip Jacob Handler (July 21, 1908 – December 8, 1968) was an American football player and coach who spent his entire professional career in the city of Chicago. He had a seven-year, 53-game NFL playing career, during which he was named All-P ...

for alleged "indifferent play" following a loss to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

."Star Back Suspended in Player Strike,"
''Albany Democrat-Herald,'' Oct. 19, 1944, pg. 8. The trio protested the unfairness of the relatively massive penalty and on October 18 the entire team refused to practice, forcing a meeting between players and club management. The conflict was shortly resolved, although Butler stormed out of the meeting and was indefinitely suspended by the team. Schultz was popular with his teammates and in August 1946 was elected by his peers as team captain of the Los Angeles Rams. Shultz moved from left guard to

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

towards the end of his pro career, appearing in 85 regular season NFL games over the 8 seasons of his career. Schultz played his last football in the

1947 NFL season The 1947 NFL season was the 28th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded the regular season by one game from eleven games per team to twelve, a number that remained constant for fourteen seasons, through 1960. The s ...

. Schultz's return to the Rams was made problematic when in April 1948 he sued the club for breach of contract, alleging that the team had failed to find him the off-season employment promised if he moved his residence to Los Angeles. Schultz contended that the two-year contract he signed with the Rams in August 1946 guaranteed to pay him $10,000 per season for the 1946 and 1947 campaigns, with an additional clause requiring the team to find him a job comparable to the $450 per month position he left in

Oregon City, Oregon Oregon City is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, located on the Willamette River near the southern limits of the Portland metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 37,572. Established in 1829 ...

, by March 1, 1948, or pay a penalty of $5,000."Ex-Oregon State Gridder Charges Rams Broke Deal,"
''Salem Daily Capital Journal,'' April 1, 1948, pg. 8. Named as defendants in the suit were team majority owner

Dan Reeves Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American professional football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third ...

and three other principals of the club. While he would eventually win his $5,000 suit against the team, a contract for 1948 from the Rams was consequently not forthcoming. In July 1948, Schultz signed an $8,000 contract with the

Los Angeles Dons The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the newly formed football league the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 Los Angeles Dons season, 1946 to 1949 Los Angeles Dons season, 1949, and played their home games in the L ...

of the rival

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC) to play in the forthcoming 1948 season.Associated Press
"Grid Star Files Suit for $7500,"
''Bakersfield Californian,'' Nov. 29, 1948, pg. 21. He reported to the team's training camp in August but was cut by the team 12 days later and paid only $500 of the contracted sum. Schultz filed yet another lawsuit, seeking payment of his full salary from the Dons. Although he prevailed in this second lawsuit as well as the first, Schultz's career in professional football was effectively at an end.

Years after the NFL

Following the end of his pro football career, Schultz moved to the North Coast of California, settling in

Eureka Eureka often refers to: * Eureka (word), a famous exclamation attributed to Archimedes * Eureka effect, the sudden, unexpected realization of the solution to a problem Eureka or Ureka may also refer to: History * Eureka Rebellion, an 1854 g ...

in 1949."Newsmakers of 1962: Redwood Motors (ad),"
''Humboldt Standard,'' Jan. 22, 1963, pg. 11. He briefly toyed with entering the coaching profession, serving as an assistant coach of the football team at

Humboldt State College California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (Cal Poly Humboldt or Humboldt) is a public university in Arcata, California. It is one of three polytechnic universities in the California State University (CSU) system and the northernmost c ...

in neighboring

Arcata, California Arcata (; ; ) is a city adjacent to the Arcata Bay (northern) portion of Humboldt Bay (United States), Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, California, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, Arcata's population was 18,857. A ...

. Unable to land a permanent position as a Lumberjacks coach, in 1953 Schultz turned to part-time collegiate officiating. He remained an active official throughout the decade of the 1950s. Schultz's main occupation in the years after football involved the selling of automobiles. He took a job as a salesman for a Eureka dealer of

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

s and

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...

s, remaining with the company for seven years."Ex-Pro Grid Player Runs VW Agency,"
''Eureka Times-Standard,'' Oct. 10, 1971, pg. 26. In 1957, he moved over to a new

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

dealership, Redwood Motors, where he took a position as sales manager. Schultz would join with a business partner to purchase this company in July 1959, before buying his partner out and assuming complete ownership early in 1962. Schultz was a leading member of the local

Kiwanis club Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization ...

and was elected multiple times to the board of directors of the California Association of Employers, a business lobbying group. About 1962 he was named to the Eureka Planning Commission, in charge of construction zoning regulations. During the early 1960s, Schultz renewed his connection to the game of football as a coach of the semi-pro Humboldt Forresters, a team sponsored by the Redwood Empire Athletic Club. Schultz was elected as president of the Eureka Chamber of Commerce for 1976. Schultz's met his wife, the former Irene Kezsely (1923-2013), while in Cleveland with the Rams, for whom she worked as part of the front office staff."Irene Schultz (obituary),"
''Eureka Times-Standard,'' March 19, 2013. The pair married on May 3, 1947. In Eureka Irene Schultz was active in local civic organizations and gained some reputation as a formidable local bowler."Humboldt County Women Star in Sports Activities,"
''Humboldt Standard,'' Aug. 17, 1960, pg. 12. Together the couple had five children.

Death and legacy

Eberle Schultz, who went by the nickname "Eb" in his later years, died May 20, 2002, in his adopted hometown of Eureka, California. He was 84 years old at the time of his death.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Elbie 1917 births 2002 deaths Players of American football from Eugene, Oregon American football offensive linemen Philadelphia Eagles players Pittsburgh Steelers players Steagles players and personnel Card-Pitt players Cleveland Rams players Los Angeles Rams players Oregon State Beavers football players Sportspeople from Eureka, California Players of American football from Humboldt County, California