View source for Howie Schultz

{{Short description|American baseball player (1922–2009)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Howie Schultz
|image         = 1947–48 Anderson Packers Howie Schultz.jpeg
|image_size    = 
|position=[[First baseman]]
|birth_date={{birth date|1922|7|3|mf=y}}
|birth_place=[[St. Paul, Minnesota]], U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|2009|10|30|1922|07|03|mf=y}}
|death_place=[[Chaska, Minnesota]], U.S.
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=August 16
|debutyear=1943
|debutteam=Brooklyn Dodgers
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 8
|finalyear=1948
|finalteam=Cincinnati Reds
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.241
|stat2label=[[Home run]]s
|stat2value=24
|stat3label=[[Run (baseball)|Runs scored]]
|stat3value=163
|teams=
* [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] (1943–1947)
* [[Philadelphia Phillies]] (1947–1948)
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] (1948)
}}

'''Howard Henry Schultz''' (July 3, 1922 – October 30, 2009), nicknamed '''"Stretch"''' and '''"Steeple"''',<ref name="reference">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/schulho01.shtml|title=Howie Schultz career statistics|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=2009-10-31}}</ref> was an American [[baseball]] and [[basketball]] player from [[St. Paul, Minnesota]]. Schultz won an NBA title with the [[Los Angeles Lakers|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 (20th century)|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.<ref name="sabr.org">{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/44eeab12|title=Howie Schultz – Society for American Baseball Research|website=sabr.org}}</ref>

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.<ref name="probasketballencyclopedia.com">{{cite web|url=http://probasketballencyclopedia.com/player/howie-schultz/|title=HOWIE SCHULTZ}}</ref><ref name="sabr.org"/>

While in college at Hamline, Schultz played [[minor league baseball]]. In 1940, Lou McKenna, the general manager of the Saints, recruited Schultz to play in the [[Class C (baseball)|Class C]] level [[Northern League (baseball, 1902–71)|Northern League]] after his freshman year at Hamline. Schultz signed and then played for the 1941 [[Grand Forks Chiefs]] ([[North Dakota]]).<ref name="sabr.org"/> Due to his height, {{convert|6|ft|6|in|m|adj=on}}, Schultz was deferred from serving in the armed forces during [[World War II]].<ref name="startribunedeath"/>

==Sports career==
=== Major League Baseball career (1943–1948) ===
Schultz began his professional career in baseball with the minor league [[Grand Forks Chiefs]] in 1941 and 1942.<ref name="baseball-reference.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=schult001how|title=Howie Schultz Minor Leagues Statistics & History|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> Schultz then was promoted to the [[St. Paul Saints]] in 1942, where he was noticed by [[Branch Rickey]] general manager of the [[History of the Brooklyn Dodgers|Brooklyn Dodgers]]. In 1943, Brooklyn called up Schultz from St. Paul.<ref name="sabr.org"/>

From 1943 to 1948, Schultz, played [[Major League Baseball]]. Schultz was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers (1943–1947), [[Philadelphia Phillies]] (1947–1948), and [[Cincinnati Reds]] (1948). He primarily played as a [[first baseman]] and was traded by Brooklyn to Philadelphia to make room for [[Jackie Robinson]].<ref name="baseball-reference.com"/>

Schultz had a career [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] of .241 with 24 home runs and 208 RBI in 470 career MLB games.<ref name="baseball-reference.com"/>

=== NBA basketball career (1948–1952) ===

In the baseball off-season, Schultz played professional basketball. Schultz first played for the [[Anderson Packers]] of the [[National Basketball League (United States)|NBL]] in 1946. When the Packers moved to the NBA in 1949–1950, Schultz served as their player-coach (21–14), before being traded to the [[Fort Wayne Pistons]] during the season.<ref name=bbr/><ref name="probasketballencyclopedia.com"/>

Schultz later played two seasons with [[Los Angeles Lakers|Minneapolis Lakers]], winning an NBA championship in 1952, alongside teammates [[George Mikan]], [[Jim Pollard]], [[Vern Mikkelsen]] and [[Slater Martin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MNL/1952.html|title=1951–52 Minneapolis Lakers Roster and Stats|website=Basketball-Reference.com}}</ref> 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|Technical Foul]] and received a $50 fine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aminoapps.com/c/nba/page/blog/12-nba-players-who-played-in-the-mlb/6P8e_Gnnczu6B4Dr71k02WrB3w0qxMwEdX2|title=12 NBA Players Who Played In The MLB – Hardwood Amino|website=Hardwood - aminoapps.com}}</ref>

Schultz averaged 9.7 points per game in the NBL, and 5.3 in the NBA.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/nbl/players/s/schulho01n.html|title=Howie Schultz NBL Stats}}</ref>

==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 (sportsman, born 1934)|Steve Hamilton]], [[Mark Hendrickson]], [[Cotton Nash]], [[Ron Reed]], [[Dick Ricketts]] and Schultz.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/baseball_and_basketball_players.shtml|title=Baseball and Basketball (NBA) Players|website=www.baseball-almanac.com}}</ref>

==Death==
Schultz died on October 30, 2009, aged 87, after a brief battle with cancer, in [[Chaska, Minnesota]].<ref name="startribunedeath">{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/sports/67634007.html|title=St. Paul athlete Howie Schultz dies|last=Brackin|first=Dennis|date=2009-10-30|work=[[Star Tribune]]|access-date=2009-10-31|archive-date=2013-02-03|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203023021/http://www.startribune.com/sports/67634007.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Career playing statistics==
{{NBA player statistics legend}}

===NBA===
Source<ref name=bbr>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/schulho01.html|title=Howie Schultz NBA stats|website=[[Basketball Reference]]|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=21 April 2023}}</ref>

====Regular season====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Year
! Team
! GP
! MPG
! FG%
! FT%
! RPG
! APG
! PPG
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1949–50 NBA season|1949–50]]
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1949–50 Anderson Packers season|Anderson]]
| 35 || &ndash; || .263 || .731 || &ndash; || '''2.5''' || 8.1
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| 1949–50
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1949–50 Fort Wayne Pistons season|Fort Wayne]]
| 32 || &ndash; || .270 || .648 || &ndash; || '''2.5''' || '''8.5'''
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| [[1951–52 NBA season|1951–52]]†
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1951–52 Minneapolis Lakers season|Minneapolis]]
| style="background:#CFECEC;"|'''66'''* || '''19.7''' || '''.283''' || '''.756''' || '''3.7''' || 1.5 || 4.1
|-
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1952–53 NBA season|1952–53]]
|style="text-align:left;"| [[1952–53 Minneapolis Lakers season|Minneapolis]]
| 40 || 11.9 || .267 || .694 || 2.0 || .7 || 2.3
|- class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 173 || 16.7 || .271 || .711 || 3.1 || 1.7 || 5.3
|}

====Playoffs====
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Year
! Team
! GP
! MPG
! FG%
! FT%
! RPG
! APG
! PPG
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1950 NBA playoffs|1950]]
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1949–50 Fort Wayne Pistons season|Fort Wayne]]
| 4 || &ndash; || .246 || '''.765''' || &ndash; || '''1.0''' || '''10.8'''
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| [[1952 NBA playoffs|1952]]†
| style="text-align:left;"| [[1951–52 Minneapolis Lakers season|Minneapolis]]
| '''12''' || 8.3 || '''.333''' || .600 || 1.6 || .4 || 1.5
|- class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
| 16 || 8.3 || .266 || .704 || 1.6 || .6 || 3.8
|}

==Head coaching record==
{{NBA coach statistics legend}}
Source<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/schulho99c.html|title=Howie Schultz Coaching Record|website=[[Basketball Reference]]|publisher=Sports Reference LLC|accessdate=26 April 2025}}</ref>

{{NBA coach statistics start}}
|- 
| style="text-align:left;"|[[1949–50 Anderson Packers season|Anderson]]
| style="text-align:left;"|{{nbay|1949}}
| 35||21||14||{{Winning percentage|21|14}}|| style="text-align:center;"|(replaced)||—||—||—||—
| style="text-align:center;"|—
{{s-end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|br=s/schulho01|brm=schult001how}}
*{{basketballstats|bbr=s/schulho01}}
*{{Find a Grave}}

{{Anderson Packers coach navbox}}
{{Anderson Duffey Packers 1948–49 NBL champions}}
{{Minneapolis Lakers 1951-52 NBA champions}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Howie}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:2009 deaths]]
[[Category:All-American college men's basketball players]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Anderson Packers coaches]]
[[Category:Anderson Packers players]] <!-- In the National Basketball League -->
[[Category:Baseball players from Saint Paul, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from Minnesota]]
[[Category:Basketball players from Saint Paul, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Brooklyn Dodgers players]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds players]]
[[Category:Fort Wayne Pistons players]]
[[Category:Grand Forks Chiefs players]]
[[Category:Hamline Pipers men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball first basemen]]
[[Category:Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball players]]
[[Category:Minneapolis Lakers players]]
[[Category:Montreal Royals players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Phillies players]]
[[Category:Player-coaches]]
[[Category:St. Paul Saints (AA) players]]