Schultz was the second of three children to Leo and Minnie Schultz, raised in St. Paul, Minnesota alongside older brother Louis and younger sister Lorraine. Leo Schultz worked for Montgomery Ward for thirty-five years. His family lived three blocks north from Lexington Park, home of the St. Paul Saints of the American Association. Leo Schultz was a member of the St. Paul Municipal Baseball Board and Howie attended many Saints games as a youth with his father. In 1940, Howie Schultz graduated from Central High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. Schultz attended Hamline University near his home in St. Paul. As a sophomore, Schultz lead Hamline to the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball championship. While in college at Hamline, Schultz played minor league baseball. In 1940, Lou McKenna, the general manager of the Saints, recruited Schultz to play in the Class C Northern League after his freshman first year at Hamline. Schultz signed and then played for the Grand Forks Chiefs in 1941.
Due to his height,, Schultz was deferred from serving in the armed forces during World War II.
Major League Baseball career (1943-1948)
Schultz began his professional career in baseball with the minor league Grand Forks Chiefs in 1941 and 1942. Schultz then was promoted to the St. Paul Saints in 1942, where he was noticed by Branch Rickey general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1943, Brooklyn called up Schultz from St. Paul. From 1943 to 1948, Schultz, played Major League Baseball as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cincinnati Reds. He primarily played as a first baseman and was traded by Brooklyn to make room for Jackie Robinson. Schultz had a career batting average of.241 with 24 home runs and 208 RBI in 470 career MLB games.
In the baseball off-season, Schultz played professional basketball. Schultz first played for the Anderson Packers of the NBL in 1946. When the Packers moved to the NBA in 1949-1950, Schultz served as their player-coach, before being traded to the Fort Wayne Pistons during the season. Schultz later played two seasons with Minneapolis Lakers, winning an NBA championship in 1952, alongside teammates George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Vern Mikkelsen and Slater Martin. In the championship against the New York Knicks, Schultz reportedly threw a punch at 6'3" Knick player Ernie Vandeweghe in game 4 of the NBA Championship series. Schultz was ejected after receiving a Technical Foul and received a 50 dollar fine. Schultz averaged 9.7 points per game in the NBL, and 5.3 in the NBA.
