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Rick Schulte
Richard Jean-Marie Schulte[1] (January[2] 24, 1963 – June 14, 2008) was an American football guard best known as a Buffalo Bills replacement player during the 1987 NFL strike. He also played with the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Raiders, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL), as well as the Arizona Outlaws of the United States Football League (USFL).[3] He played college football at Illinois.[4] College careerSchulte played with the Fighting Illini, starting 26 games over three seasons (1982–1984) at left guard. In 1984, Schulte was a co-captain of the team in addition to receiving the Bruce Capel Award.[5] Professional careerTampa Bay BuccaneersSchulte was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted rookie in 1985.[3] He wore jersey number 61 with the Buccaneers and appeared on the roster for the team's first two preseason games[6][7] before being released on August 20, 1985.[8] Arizona OutlawsIn 1986, Schulte signed with the Arizona Outlaws of the United States Football League, where he played center. However, the league folded before any games were played that season.[3] Chicago BearsSchulte spent time with the Chicago Bears,[9] but never played in a regular season game with the team. He was waived by the Bears on September 29, 1986, and released the following day.[10] Buffalo BillsSchulte was on the offseason roster of the Buffalo Bills in 1987. On August 19, 1987, Schulte was terminated by the Bills.[11] Schulte had been working as a communications company salesman when he rejoined the Bills as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL players' strike.[3] He played three games with the Bills during the strike: an October 4 game against the Indianapolis Colts, an October 11 game against the New England Patriots, and an October 18 game against the New York Giants.[4] In his third and final NFL game, against the Giants, Schulte was told by coach Marv Levy to protect against future Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor, who had crossed the picket line and played during the strike. Schulte was called for five penalties in the game and played rough against Taylor, even kicking him in the nose after a play.[3] The Bills ultimately lost the game 6–3.[12] After that week, the strike ended, and teams no longer had a need for their replacement players. Schulte was placed on injured reserve on October 20, 1987,[13] then released by the team a month later on November 19.[14] Indianapolis ColtsSchulte spent a brief amount of time with the Indianapolis Colts,[3] who released him on August 3, 1988.[15] Los Angeles RaidersIn 1993, Schulte made a brief comeback to the NFL with the Los Angeles Raiders. However, he had found success with his own company, and left the league "on [his] own terms," leaving the Raiders without ever playing a game.[3] DeathSchulte died in Tempe, Arizona on June 14, 2008, from an apparent heart attack at the age of 45.[5] References
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