Howie Schultz

Howard Henry Schultz (July 3, 1922 – October 30, 2009), nicknamed "Stretch" and "Steeple", was an American baseball and basketball player from St. Paul, Minnesota. Schultz won an NBA title with the Minneapolis Lakers in 1952. Schultz played in both Major League Baseball and in the National Basketball Association, one of thirteen athletes to do so.

Early life Schultz was the second of three children to Leo and Minnie Schultz, raised in St. Paul, Minnesota alongside older brother Louis and younger sister Lorraine. Leo Schultz worked for Montgomery Ward for 35 years. His family lived three blocks north from Lexington Park, home of the St. Paul Saints of the American Association. Leo Schultz was a member of the St. Paul Municipal Baseball Board and Howie attended many Saints games as a youth with his father.

In 1940, Howie Schultz graduated from Central High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. Schultz attended Hamline University near his home in St. Paul. As a sophomore, Schultz led Hamline to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) championship. Schultz then was promoted to the St. Paul Saints in 1942, where he was noticed by Branch Rickey general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1943, Brooklyn called up Schultz from St. Paul. In the championship against the New York Knicks, Schultz reportedly threw a punch at 6'3" Knick player Ernie Vandeweghe in game 4 of the NBA Championship series. Schultz was ejected after receiving a Technical Foul and received a $50 fine.

Schultz averaged 9.7 points per game in the NBL, and 5.3 in the NBA.

NBA and MLB Players Schultz is one of 13 athletes who played in both the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. The thirteen are: Danny Ainge, Frank Baumholtz, Hank Biasatti, Gene Conley, Chuck Connors, Dave DeBusschere, Dick Groat, Steve Hamilton, Mark Hendrickson, Cotton Nash, Ron Reed, Dick Ricketts and Schultz.

Death Schultz died on October 30, 2009, aged 87, after a brief battle with cancer, in Chaska, Minnesota.

Career playing statistics

NBA Source

Regular season

Playoffs Year Team GP MPG FG% FT% RPG APG PPG 1950 Fort Wayne 4 – .246 .765 – 1.0 10.8 1952† Minneapolis 12 8.3 .333 .600 1.6 .4 1.5Career 16 8.3 .266 .704 1.6 .6 3.8

Head coaching record

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