News Vale John Schultz

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John was my father’s best mate and surfing buddy. I was born in 1960 the year he won the Brownlow and our families shared many wonderful times over many years at Balnarring, Shoreham, Torquay, Pt Leo, Byron Bay and home. Can still clearly remember him limping around the house after matches.

John was my football idol and had a huge influence on me with his gentle manner and character. I based the way I played the game on his example and always remember him just having a grin at the pretend tough guys who tried to rough him up occasionally😊.
Was so glad he got to present the Premiership cup to the Bulldogs.

Still have a S.A. footy jumper given to John by a South Australian in the traditional jumper swap of that era when John was playing for the Big V. John gifted the jumper to Dad, in those days both he and John wore footy jumpers when surfing so it’s a bit worse for wear. Along with Dad’s Wangaratta jumper it is still a prized possession for me😊.
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Spoke to one of John and Elaine’s daughters a couple of days ago and John was in good spirits.

Passing on my condolences to all the Bulldogs fans. Hope you win the Grand Final for him😀. I’ll be barracking hard for you😀.

Rest In Peace John

Rusty
 
I was lucky enough to meet John twice, decades apart, and he was incredibly kind to me both times. The second time was at a Bulldogs Presidents dinner and I was lucky enough to be seated next to John. It was just after a tragic time in my life and I could not believe how kind and concerned he was for some random he had just met. It was a privilege to be in his company . He was special.
Vale John Schulz.
 

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Vale Gentleman John, my hero as a boy as I stood at the Geelong Road end of the Western Oval. All I can say is the team should 'do it for John' this coming Friday in honour of an absolute legend.
 
Absolutely gutted to be honest.

When I first started going to the football. I never really had anyone to go with. By chance I was introduced to a lovely man by the name of Peter Clarke. Who took me under his wing, and I spent a few years going to a lot of games along side him, and some of his relatives. I believe he and his brothers, all Aboriginal, had bit of a presence in the local football scene up around Ballarat way. (I may be wrong on the region) During their own playing days.

Growing up a mad Bulldogs fan. His favorite player of all time, and perhaps in his mind, the best Bulldog player he has seen. Was none other than the legendary John Schultz. I believe that he and John were introduced a few months out from Peters passing as a surprise. And the two bonded quite well and kept in good contact. And when Peter lost his battle with cancer almost 10 years ago, John Schultz and his wife made the effort to come all the way down to Geelong and pay their respects. In fact I believe Schultz kept in touch with Peters family in all the years since, and they were one of the first to be told of Johns passing this morning.

Unknown to me at the time. An elderly couple sitting behind me at the funeral, wearing Bulldogs scarves. Commented on my Bulldogs top. I was so focused on the service, and a little blind by grief. I barely picked up much of what they said. Much of the brief conversation was a blur, I actually do not remember a thing. Except their pride in the fact I supported the same club that they did. No doubt they both introduced themselves at the start.

At the conclusion of the service, John approached me and we had a lovely chat. Now, I had heard of John Schultz, but had no idea what he looked like these days given the many years had passed since the images of his playing days. And given I was still pretty young at the time and was only just getting into the deeper history of the club. I did not hear his self introduction ahead of the service, so I was still oblivious to who I was in the presence of. But we had a fantastic 30 minute conversation, about life, Bulldogs, Peter, and just general stuff. And I left thinking, what a great person this guy is.

Hours after the service, Peters grand daughter, whom I was also friends with at the time. Told me I was in the presence of Bulldog royalty, John Schultz. My heart sunk, and I muttered to myself... f**k!

In the months since. I felt awfully bad. What kind of Bulldog fan, can even call themselves a fan if you do not recognize one of the greats? If only I had picked up on his name during introductions and not been stone deaf at the moment, I would have known straight away who he was.

Even to this day I still kick myself for it, and hope I did not offend him at the time. But fortunately I was able to bump into him again a few months later. I believe it was at Marvel Stadium, where they had the NAB Cup Final, and I recall Fosters kid was playing. I was standing in the concourse against the barrier, watching the play unfold. I heard a familiar voice behind me, it appears he recognized me. No introductions were needed this time, I knew who he was. Again, we stood alongside each other and watched a full quarter of football together, covering a range of topics. And expressing sadness about the recent form of the Bulldogs. I never got around to apologizing for not recognizing him last time. But none the less, I enjoyed his company thoroughly.

I was seriously happy as, when he was announced as the person to present the club with the Premiership trophy should we win. There was a reason he is known as the gentleman. No doubt this would have been the highlight of his life in the later years. Sadly though, I never got to meet him again in person in the years since, as much as I really hoped for another encounter. But his presence was always known at every game. One of the first few faces the players would see as they enter the rooms post game. Or the fans sitting at home watching the game on the TV. No one could mistake that tall figure in the background, always with a smile on his face.

In my short experiences with John. I know he loved life, the company of people, and the Bulldogs. At some points in life, you may have short encounters with people, but some of those are quite memorable, that they stick with you for life.

R.I.P John, and condolences to his family. In a world that is full of anger and division. Be a John Schultz. The world needs more of them.

I hope the boys can go all the way this year, and win it for John and Sam.
 
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Proud wearers of the number 14

John Schultz

* please fill in the gaps because I don’t know

Luke Darcy

Clay Smith

Rhylee West
 
GetDimmaBack said:
This is such a sad day for the club.

I had his number on my back as a little kid. Just idolised him.
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Same same. John worked with my father at the SSB in Abbotsford and met him again when he and Robert ran the old SSW grocery and liquor store in Syndal when he lived opposite the riversdale golf club. He was always generous with his time and insightful with his football observations. A true bullgod.
 

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A very sad day. Bulldog legend and V/AFL hall of famer.

St Peter’s FC just got a bit stronger 🥹

IMG_8405.jpeg
 
A lot of the tributes to him talk about what a lovely bloke he was and a gentleman. Which I'm sure he was.

But he must have been a brilliant player too, one of our all time best?
 
bresker said:
A lot of the tributes to him talk about what a lovely bloke he was and a gentleman. Which I'm sure he was.

But he must have been a brilliant player too, one of our all time best?
Click to expand...
Hall of Famer
 
bresker said:
A lot of the tributes to him talk about what a lovely bloke he was and a gentleman. Which I'm sure he was.

But he must have been a brilliant player too, one of our all time best?
Click to expand...
From the clubs own page.

"'Gentleman John' was one of the Footscray Football Club's greatest ever players and was renowned for his integrity and fairness, a champion ruckman universally acclaimed for good tackling and elegant marking.

He played 188 games for Footscray and represented Victoria 24 times, winning a Brownlow Medal in 1960, All Australian honours in 1961, and five club best-and-fairest awards.

He was also Footscray's best player in their losing effort in the 1961 Grand Final and was named on the club's Team of the Century.

Later in life he was a proud representative and ambassador for the Club and an ever-present at Bulldogs matches, mentoring the club's coaching and playing groups.

Having been in the Bulldogs rooms for every game throughout the 2016 season, John had the appropriate honour of handing the Premiership cup to Easton Wood, Bob Murphy and Luke Beveridge when the flag drought was broken at the MCG.

The Club's annual community award is named in his honour, with Buku Khamis its most recent recipient for his efforts on behalf of the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation.
 
bresker said:
A lot of the tributes to him talk about what a lovely bloke he was and a gentleman. Which I'm sure he was.

But he must have been a brilliant player too, one of our all time best?
Click to expand...
John played well before my time but would be great for those that watched him play to get a sense of how good he was as a player.
 
ossie_21 said:
A very sad day. Bulldog legend and V/AFL hall of famer.

St Peter’s FC just got a bit stronger 🥹

View attachment 2098340
Click to expand...
Looking at this photo gives me a roller coaster of emotions and flood of memories.
Two blokes that couldn’t be more different, but 2 blokes that were everything to our supporters at the time.
They were the club !

Right now the world is not quite on its axis. Our club has lost a very special person.
 
Eastdog said:
John played well before my time but would be great for those that watched him play to get a sense of how good he was as a player.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you saw Scott Wynd ? In lots of ways very similar.
John was incredibly consistent, someone you could rely on week in week out.
Very good mark around the ground. Resilient and tough.
But very very fair in an era where nearly everyone was fair game.
I believe it was John Nicholls who said , you never belted John Schultz.
He was just too nice a bloke to target. I think it fair to say the rest of the competition felt the same.

The “ Gentlemen John “ tag was very apt.
 
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News Vale John Schultz

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