John Schultz (footballer, born 1938)

Schultz is still heavily involved at the Bulldogs, serving as a mentor to the playing group. He was given the honour of handing the Premiership cup to Easton Wood, Luke Beveridge and Robert Murphy after the Western Bulldogs won the 2016 AFL Grand Final.

Schultz lives in Shoreham, a town on the Mornington Peninsula. He was married to Elaine, who came from Durham Ox, the town next to Boort, until she died in 2013.

In 2002, Schultz was named in the back pocket of the Footscray/Western Bulldogs Team of the Century.

Fittingly for a man who was known for his fairness and never once reported, Schultz later served on the league tribunal. He once said, "I love nothing more than seeing someone shake another player's hand after a tough game – that's the ultimate in sportsmanship." In 1996 Schultz was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame with the following citation:

Schultz played as an amateur. 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.

His younger brother Robert, also from Caulfield Grammar School, played two senior games for Footscray in 1963.

In 1961, Footscray, playing a fast game using the soon-to-be-outlawed "flick pass", won through to their second Grand Final, this time against Hawthorn, who were playing in their first Grand Final. On a hot day, in front of over 100,000 spectators, the Hawks, dubbed Kennedy's Commandos for their fanatical approach to fitness, overran the Bulldogs in the second half to claim their first VFL premiership.

Schultz won the Brownlow Medal in 1960 (when only 21 years old) 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 was recruited by Footscray from country side Boort, having previously played briefly with Caulfield Grammarians Football Club in the Victorian Amateur Football Association (he broke his arm at the opening bounce of the first Caulfield Grammarians' practice match of the 1956 season).

He had been a champion high-jumper at Caulfield Grammar School, winning the senior high jump at the 1955 Associated Grammar Schools Combined Athletics Meeting (as had South Melbourne's Jim Taylor in 1948). He also played for the school's First XVIII, a team which also contained other future VFL players, Ron Evans of Essendon and Ron Cabble of Hawthorn.

John Schultz (born 28 September 1938) is a former Australian rules footballer who represented Footscray in the Victorian Football League (VFL).