Canadian football fans and media are in mourning following the passing of former Dallas Cowboys and Toronto Argonauts’ offensive lineman and CFL on TSN analyst Chris Schultz.
Schultz suffered a heart attack.
The 61-year old was a household name to football fans in Canada, spending more than 20 years covering both the NFL and CFL after becoming a mainstay on the CFL on TSN panel in 1998. Schultz most recently served as colour analyst for the Argos radio broadcasts.
Born in Burlington, Ontario, the six-foot-eight, 277-pound lineman earned a scholarship to the University of Arizona. After converting from defensive line to left tackle for his senior year, Schultz was drafted in the seventh round, 189th overall of the 1983 NFL Draft by Dallas.
After three years in Dallas, Schultz returned to Canada and played nine seasons with the boatman, winning the Grey Cup in 1991. A two-time league all-star, he was named to the Argonauts’ all-time team in 2007 as one of the greatest to ever play for the double blue and was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
The gentle giant seamlessly transitioned to broadcast television post-retirement, becoming a fan favourite for his unique brand of insight and humour. Schultz established himself as one of the faces of the game for an entire generation of fans before stepping back in recent years to focus on calling games for TSN 1050 in Toronto.
There is a giant-sized hole in the heart of every CFL fan as there will never be another personality big enough to fill it.
