John Schultz (born September 28, 1938) is a former Australian rules football player, who played for the Footscray Football Club in the (then) Victorian Football League (VFL) and is one of the club's greatest players.
John Schulz was considered a "gentle giant", known as much for his fairness as for his brilliance. An effective knock ruckman, he was acclaimed for good tackling, elegant marking and hard, fair bumping.
Schultz was recruited by Footscray from country side Boort, having previously played with Caulfield Grammarians in the Victorian Amateur Football Association. His VFL career spanned 10 years and 188 games (kicking 39 goals). From debut in 1958 he played eight years without missing a game - 169 consecutive matches - before a knee injury sidelined him in June 1965.
Schultz won the Brownlow Medal in 1960 by one vote from Fitzroy's Kevin Murray. He was Footscray's Best and Fairest Player five times (1960, 1962, 1964-66). Schultz played for Victoria 21 times, and was an All-Australian in 1961.
Schultz played as an amateur (i.e., he received no payment). He played his entire VFL with the great Ted Whitten as his captain, and retired in 1968, aged only twenty-nine, to help manage the family grocery business. Fittingly for a man who was notorious for his fairness, and who was never once reported, Schultz later served on the league tribunal.
In 2002, he was named to a back pocket of the Footscray/Western Bulldogs Team of the Century.
In 1996 Schultz was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame with the following citation:
Rucking giant who never let the side down. Set the standard for the modern ruckman.
Playing career:
Player honors:
