Former Dallas Cowboys teammate Brian Baldinger reflects on time with Chris Schultz

Photo courtesy: NFL/Shilah Montiel

Former NFL offensive lineman turned analyst Brian Baldinger spent three years playing with Chris Schultz for the Dallas Cowboys.

Baldinger made the roster as an undrafted free agent in 1982 while Schultz was selected in the seventh round, 189th overall in the 1983 NFL Draft. During their playing days, the Pittsburgh native was six-foot-four, 278 pounds, and the Burlington native six-foot-eight, 277 pounds.

“I was going into my second season, I had just made the Cowboys as a rookie free agent the year before on the offensive line. I thought, ‘Oh God, here they go.’ Drafting guys like Chris Schultz, I’m going to be one and done here,” Baldinger said on The Rod Pedersen Show.

“Chris stuck around for a while and we became good teammates, and good friends. We lived in the same apartment complex, so I knew Chris quite well during the time that he was there. He moved on and became a big star up in Canada.”

Schultz returned north of the border and played nine seasons with the Toronto Argonauts, winning the Grey Cup in 1991. A two-time league all-star, he was named to the Argos’ all-time team in 2007 as one of the greatest to ever play for the double blue. The Big Man was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.

“He was a big ol’ six-foot-eight offensive tackle — big horse, good athlete, and had his time with the Dallas Cowboys,” Baldinger said.

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. He most recently served as colour analyst for the Argonauts radio broadcasts. Schultz suffered a sudden heart attack and passed away on March 4.

“I would see him at the Super Bowl, I’d run into him and reconnect,” Baldinger said.

“It was a very sad loss, unexpected. That went around and travelled pretty quickly.”