Germany Schulz Adolph George " Germany " Schulz ( April 19 , 1883 – April 14 , 1951 ) was an All - American American football center for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1904 to 1905 and from 1907 to 1908 . While playing at Michigan , Schulz is credited with having invented the spiral snap and with developing the practice of standing behind the defensive line . As the first lineman to play in back of the line on defense , he is credited as football ' s first linebacker . During his time at Michigan , Schulz also became involved in one of college football ' s earliest recruiting controversies , as some suggested that he was a " ringer " recruited by Michigan coach Fielding H . Yost . Schulz was 21 years old when he enrolled at Michigan , had worked in an Indiana steel mill and reportedly played for either amateur or professional teams . Michigan was refused re - entry into the Western Conference in 1908 when it insisted on playing the 25 - year - old Schulz for a fourth season in violation of conference eligibility rules . Despite the controversies , Schulz is remembered both as an innovator and one of the toughest football players in the early days of the game . In 1951 , Schulz was selected as the greatest center in football history in a poll conducted by the National Football Foundation and became one of the initial inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame . He has also been inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor . After his days as a collegiate athlete ended , Schulz assumed a variety of assistant coach ing , athletic director , and head coach ing positions in college football . He eventually entered the insurance industry , where he enjoyed a long career . He died in 1951 , several days after being named the greatest center in football history by the College Football Foundation . Childhood . Schulz was born in Fort Wayne , Indiana , the son of German immigrants . His father , Adolph F . Schulz , Sr . , was a doctor who was born in 1854 , and his mother , Sophia , was born in 1850 . The couple emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1880 with their infant daughter Wilhelmina ( born December 1879 ) . Schulz also had two brothers , Fred Schulz and Arthur Schulz , both of whom became doctors . Schulz played football for Fort Wayne High School and was also a member of amateur city teams for several years . Star athlete at the University of Michigan . Concerns that Schulz was a ringer . In 1904 , Schulz enrolled at the University of Michigan at age 21 , standing and weighing . In the early 1900s , many decried the increasing recruitment of ringers — older , experienced players whose qualifications as " student athletes " were suspect . Michigan ' s coach , Fielding H . Yost , whose teams outscored their opponents 2 , 821 to 42 between 1901 and 1905 , had been accused of using ringers before . When Yost accepted the head coaching job at Michigan , he had recruited his star player , 23 - year - old Willie Heston , to transfer to Michigan from the California State Normal School . When the 21 - year - old Schulz joined the team , there were suggestions that he was Yost ' s newest ringer . The suspicions were exacerbated by reports that Schulz was a factory worker in an Indiana steel mill who had played for a half - dozen professional teams before enrolling at Michigan . Until the time of his death , reports of his having been a ringer angered Schulz . While he did work in a steel mill , Schulz insisted that he did not " come out " of the steel mill to play football . Instead , Schulz said he " went into " the mill to harden himself up for the football season . When asked years later how he got to Michigan , Schulz recalled that , in the summer of 1904 , he was working in the mill and had received several offers to play football . One day , his father called to say that Fielding Yost of Michigan was in his office . Schulz ran down the street and rushed into his father ' s office , where he was introduced to Yost . His father promptly told him , " Adolph , this is Mr . Yost . You are to play football for him at Michigan . We have made all the arrangements " . In September 1904 , on his way to Ann Arbor , Michigan ( the home of the University of Michigan ) , Schulz recalled that he stopped in Chicago , Illinois , where he spent four days drinking beer and generally having a " swell time " . A group of Michigan representatives eventually found him in Chicago and put him on the next train to Ann Arbor . When he arrived in Ann Arbor , Yost was furious and accused Schulz of flirting with Amos Alonzo Stagg , the legendary coach of the University of Chicago . Schulz was immediately taken out to Michigan ' s training camp at Whitmore Lake and kept asking Yost when he was going to be allowed to register . Yost told Schulz that he had taken care of it . According to Schulz , he was registered two weeks before he ever saw the campus . Yost ' s account differed dramatically from that of Schulz . Sensitive to allegations that he was recruiting ringers , Yost denied having recruited Schulz and claimed that Schulz was just another student who tried out for the team . According to Yost , the first time he ever saw Schulz was in the fall of 1904 when Schulz was waiting tables at a fraternity house in Ann Arbor and told Yost he would like to play football . Yost went so far as to say that he initially thought the young waiter looked too awkward to be a football player , but " did not want to discourage anybody " . Freshman year : Michigan ' s undefeated season . Schulz was the only freshman to play on Michigan ' s 1904 football team . The team featured the school ' s all - time scoring leader , Willie Heston , finished with a record of 10 – 0 , and outscored opponents 567 – 22 . Schulz started all ten games for the 1904 team . Schulz began his playing career at Michigan as a guard , starting five games at that position . However , mid - way through the season , Yost moved Schulz to center , where he started the remaining five games . Schulz ' s play at center was reported to have been " gilt - edged " , and his accuracy in snapping the ball was praised by the team ' s quarterback , Fred Norcross . Six games into the season , Schulz ' s hometown newspaper reported on Schulz ' s accomplishments under the headline : " Makes Good at Michigan " . The article noted : " Schulz went to Ann Arbor practically green at the game , but by hard and consistent work he has succeeded in winning a place on the greatest team in America , and is the only freshman out of fifty who was able to do so " . Schulz was one of the larger football players of his time and was known as a fierce hitter . Schulz liked to tell a story about an incident during Michigan ' s 1904 game against Oberlin College . He recalled : " We were playing Oberlin in 1904 . Their regular center was hurt and a little 155 - pound fellow came in . I hit him as hard as I could . Imagine my surprise when he looked up and said , ' please sir , if you are determined to be fierce , let me know and I ' ll get out of the way . ' I was no good the rest of the afternoon . Every time I looked at the little fellow , I had to break out laughing " . 1905 season : Stardom . Before the 1905 season got underway , Schulz contracted malaria in the spring . Newspapers reported it was a " serious attack " and that he " has been quite ill " , but he was able to recuperate before the 1905 football season . In October 1905 , Coach Yost said : " In looking over the whole bunch , I do not see anyone who has improved more than Schulz . He is bigger and stronger than ever , and I do not know a man in the world that has it the least bit over him in the center position . I would not trade him for any other center rush in the country today . He looks good to me for the All - America team right now " . Though he was not selected for the All - America team in 1905 , Schulz did receive All - Western honors . Innovations : The " spiral snap " and the " roving center " . Schulz is widely credited with two important innovations in the development of the modern game of American football . First , he is credited with having invented the spiral snap . Before Schulz , centers passed the ball to one of the backs in an end - over - end manner . Second , Schulz is credited with being the first center to step back from the line while playing defense . Prior to Schulz ' s innovation , centers played in the line on defense . In 1905 , Schulz began dropping back from the line , enabling him to use his speed to move laterally and giving him greater coverage across the field of play . At the time , the innovation was referred to as a " roving center " , but it was effectively the birth of the linebacker position in American football . Asked how he developed the " roving center " idea , Schulz noted that the backs started from five yards behind the line and concluded , " No back living could move five yards while I was moving four " . He described his thinking to Coach Yost this way : " It ' s all very simple , Yost . The ball carrier travels five yards while I travel only four yard to meet him . I know of no back who can beat me in a five - yard race after giving me a one - yard handicap " . In 1954 , sports columnist Dave Lewis explored the history of the linebacker position , and concluded that Schulz was the " first of the breed " . Lewis wrote : " Schulz revolutionized defensive line play being the first to back up the line " . Schulz recalled that the first time he stepped back from the line on defense , Coach Yost was horrified . Yost said , " Dutchman , what are you trying to do ? " " Stop ' em " , replied Schulz . " But you ' re supposed to play in the line " , Yost insisted . " They ' ll run over us . " " Listen Yost " , Schulz claims to have said , " My way is best . If any of ' em gets by me , I ' ll move back into the line and stay there " . Yost eventually saw the wisdom in Schulz ' s technique , and soon nearly all centers were backing up the line on defense . Ineligibility for the 1906 season . Schulz ' s promising football career took a detour in 1906 . Some sources indicate that Schulz missed the 1906 season for financial reasons . Schulz ' s official biography at the College Football Hall of Fame states : " He missed the 1906 season ; he had dropped out of school because of a lack of funds . He worked in a steel mill in Fort Wayne , Indiana , and earned the money to return to college " . In fact , Schulz ' s father was a successful doctor , and contemporary reports indicate that Schulz was ineligible to play in 1906 for academic reasons . In February 1906 , one paper reported that Schulz had been " dropped from the rolls on account of poor work during the semester " . Another report in March 1906 indicated that Schulz had left the university " by desire of the faculty " after he fell behind in his studies . In September 1906 , " The Washington Post " reported that Schulz ' s academic problems continued to render him ineligible to play . All - American in 1907 . When Schulz returned to the team in 1907 , he was the talk of the campus . One newspaper reported that Ann Arbor had " 5 , 000 students continually gossiping about him " , as Schulz ' s return was seen as " a gigantic stride in the direction of ( Michigan ' s ) winning back her former football prestige " . Coach Yost noted : " We need him not only as a player , but also as a leader . In energy , ability to stand hard knocks , and courage he is a model for the rest of the team to strive after " . With Schulz in the lineup , Michigan won its first five games by a combined score of 107 – 0 . In Michigan ' s game against Ohio State , Schulz was reported to have been " a brick wall of defense " and " hard as nails " . After starting the season 5 – 0 , Michigan closed the 1907 season playing the University of Pennsylvania . For the first time , one of the eastern schools had agreed to play a game at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor . In the buildup to the game , the press focused on Schulz as the key to Michigan ' s chances . One writer noted : " There is one man in the Michigan eleven that Pennsylvania fears and will endeavor to stop if possible when the two great teams meet in Ann Arbor November 16 , 1907 . That man is Germany Schulz , Yost ' s great center " . Penn even announced that they were moving their star tackle , Draper , to center in an effort to stop Schulz . In the end , Penn beat Michigan , 6 – 0 , marking the first time the Wolverines had ever lost a game at Ferry Field . Despite the loss , press reports after the game credited Schulz with a great effort . One account noted : " Pennsy is said to have delegated three players to watch him , the heavyweight center played a star game throughout . He broke through the line repeatedly and stopped plays . Then again he would dash out to the end and tackle the man attempting to circle the wing . He was down under punts and in the open play showed as much speed as any player on the field . And he weighs 234 pounds " . At the end of the season , there was a consensus that " The giant center of Michigan practically stands in a class by himself at the pivot position " . University of Chicago star Walter Eckersall , said : " Schulz , of Michigan , easily outshone his opponents in every game . He is finely built , runs fast , snaps accurately , tackles hard , and is all over the field in every play " . One writer referred to Schulz in 1907 as a " human catapult " and said : " Schulz of Michigan is a very heavy man , weighing over 200 pounds , yet he is strikingly fast on his feet and is unusual on that account . He propels his massive frame at a rate of speed that terrifies opponents . . . . The acknowledged prowess of Schulz makes him an especial object of unfair attack in scrimmages by opponents who hope , by disabling him , to weaken the Michigan team " . Coach Yost added : " Schultz is without doubt the best center in the country . In fact , Schulz is the best man in the middle of the line I have ever seen in all my football experience " . In naming Schulz to his All - America team , Walter Camp said : " He is well over six feet in height , yet a fast , powerful man who gets well over the field and makes more tackles in a game than any other man on his team . In addition he is an accurate passer and feeds the ball well to his backs either for kicks or runs " . Controversy over eligibility for 1908 . As the 1907 season ended , a controversy was sparked when the Michigan players unanimously voted Schulz as the captain for the 1908 season . Michigan had been suspended by the Western Conference after the 1906 season , and if it was to seek readmission in 1908 , it was required to comply with Western Conference eligibility rules . Under those rules , a player was limited to three years of play , though Michigan ' s rule allowed a player four years of eligibility . Michigan officials contended that Schulz should not be governed by the rule , because he had begun play before the conference ' s rule was enacted . Schulz found himself in the middle of football ' s first eligibility controversy . At the same time , David Starr Jordan , the President of Stanford University , made a speech referring to modern college football as " unethical " , " unchristian " , " unsportsmanlike " and " a monstrosity " . Starr noted that " practically all the major universities employ questionable methods in securing athletes " . Jordan heaped particular scorn on Michigan , where he claimed " the alumni and cheap gamblers of the town brought in men who were professionals and paid them salaries to play on Michigan athlete teams " . " The New York Times " ran a front page story repeating Jordan ' s charges . The Western Conference ' s eligibility rules had been at the center of Michigan ' s dispute with the conference for more than a year . Unlike the Western Conference , the eastern schools had looser eligibility standards , and it was " generally conceded that playing under [ the Western Conference ' s ] strict eligibility rules Michigan is at a big disadvantage in games with eastern colleges , where , to say the least , the lines are not so clearly drawn " . Schulz complained amid the controversy about inaccurate reporting of his age . " As a rule my age is generally given as twenty - five , when in fact I am but twenty - three . " Schulz would have been 24 at the time of his comments . Michigan presented its case for Schulz to a meeting of the " Big Nine " in Chicago . One account noted : " The Michigan case will be discussed at the meeting and it is very likely that a vote requesting the Ann Arbor institution to withdraw from the body will be passed . Michigan ' s open violation of the conference rules during the last year has aroused a strong hostile spirit , and it is known that a majority of the schools favor dropping the Wolverines from the association " . Manager Charles Baird was given the task of arguing Schulz ' s case to the Conference at its January meeting . The student newspaper , " The Michigan Daily " , urged the school not to abandon Schulz . It wrote : " Germany Schulz is now recognized as the captain of Michigan ' s next football team . . . , and while Michigan students are not averse to going back into active alliance with the western schools , any attempt to debar Schulz from his fairly won honor is sure to cause an uproar , which may upset all of the feeling of compromise which is now evident " . Ultimately , the Western Conference forced Michigan to choose between Schulz or the conference . Michigan chose Schulz , and the Big Nine remained the Big Eight for the 1908 season . 1908 season and further academic eligibility problems . After a strong show of support from the University , Schulz ran into further academic problems . In February 1908 , the University announced that Schulz was ineligible for the track team ( Schulz competed in the shot put and the discus ) due to his performance on a semester exam in hydraulics . While he would be allowed to get his work straightened out before it came time to compete in football , news accounts noted that " the outlook is rather gloomy at present " . By the time football season arrived , Schulz ' s academic problems had worsened . Contemporary reports indicated that " It is not physical conditions which are keeping the giant player from the game ( as was announced ) , but educational ones " . In early October 1908 , Schulz had " three conditions in the engineering course , more than a player can carry and continue his athletic relations " . Though " every effort " had been made for two weeks to have the conditions removed , those efforts had failed . A meeting of the eligibility board was held , and they concluded that Schulz could not play until he removed at least two of the conditions . While it was possible for Schulz to remove the conditions by the end of October by " burning the midnight oil " , it was reported that " this is an optimistic view of the situation shared by few " . Schulz ultimately had his eligibility restored in late October and was greeted with " cheers from the bleacher s " when he appeared in his first practice on October 22 , 1907 . It appears that Schulz ' s academic problems continued , as a 1910 article concerning the post - college success of football players reported that Schulz " didn ’ t finish " his course at Michigan . 1908 Penn game . In 1908 , Michigan went into its rivalry game against Penn undefeated . Michigan hoped to avenge two straight defeats to the Quakers , and its hopes were based to a large extent on Schulz . Penn announced before the game that it would bring four available centers so there " might be a fresh antagonist facing the Michigan captain throughout the game " . Special trains from all over Michigan poured large crowds into Ann Arbor , and the crowd was said to be " the largest attendance which has been on Ferry Field " . Though Michigan was beaten that day , 29 – 0 , Schulz ' s courageous performance , and the pummeling he took from the Penn team , was recounted many times in the following decades . Not all of these accounts are consistent with each other , but the story of the Penn game has become an integral part of the Germany Schulz hagiography . In one of the few contemporaneous accounts , the " Toledo Blade " wrote that the Penn players , knowing that Schulz was " the power in the Michigan game " , focused their energy on wearing him down . There were two Penn players who " did nothing but look after Schultz " . And they did more than look : " In every scrimmage , he was bumped as hard as the rules allowed , and maybe a little harder , when nobody was looking . . . . Every time Schultz started anywhere he would find a couple of Penn men digging headfirst into his stomach . They would elbow him , jam him with the straight arm , and if he went to the ground in a scrimmage there generally would be a knee grinding him in the wind . Pretty soon Schultz began to show it . . . . He limped along pitifully . He couldn ' t run . His strength was almost gone . When he did tackle , his groan of pain could almost be heard in the stands " . But the fans continued to urge Schulz with yells of " G - r - r - r - r - rah , Schultz ! " Schulz buckled down and continued to play , and the pummeling continued . At half - time , the trainers found on Schulz " a mass of black and blue spots " . His " face was distorted with bumps " , and there were " welts on his back and groin " . As the second half started , Schulz insisted he felt better and went back into the game . But the attack continued . " Another scrimmage and two more Penn men were after him again . He went into the play and for an instant , his strength came back , but it couldn ' t last , and it didn ' t . ” Yost finally sent in a substitute , and Schulz limped to the sideline and walked slowly away " with head bowed and hands to his stomach " . And when the " rubbers " removed his togs and examined him , " they marveled that he was able to walk " . In the end , Schulz " didn ' t say a word — big tears rolled down as he lay there ; Schultz was thoroughly beaten , but it took the entire Pennsylvania eleven to do it " . Penn ' s captain , Bill Hollenback , said : “ This fellow Schulz is a monster in size and a perfect athlete . He is both wonderfully agile and fast for a man of his size . In our game with Michigan , we had two men instructed to play against Schulz and at times three and four were opposed to him . For some time , he handed out as much as we passed to him in the roughing end of the game . He was here , there and everywhere . He did most of the tackling . He broke up innumerable plays . He was the star of the contest until the continued battering of our men injured him to such an extent that he had to retire . The rest was easy " . Coach Yost said of Schulz ' s performance : " He gave the greatest one - man exhibition of courage I ever saw on a football field " . From the 1920s through the 1950s , the story was told , re - told and likely embellished in columns by Grantland Rice , Art Carlson , Frank Blair and Dave Lewis — more than one of them writing that they had seen the game in person . In Carlson ' s 1925 account , " the giant center had been rendered practically useless from the Penn attack " , but refused to leave the game . Carlson recalled Schulz ' s removal from the game this way : " It was a scene I shall never forget — the giant Schulz , towering above the rest of the combatants , literally dragged off the field , tears streaming down his mud - spattered cheeks as he frantically protested his removal from the game " . In 1942 , Grantland Rice wrote that Schulz held the Penn team in check for 50 minutes and that the score was 0 – 0 when Schulz " left the field a battered wreck " . ( In fact , contemporaneous accounts show the score was 6 – 0 at halftime . ) In Frank Blair ' s 1951 telling , Schulz played with the " strength of Samson " , and Penn " put five men - - center , both guards and both tackles — on the Wolverine giant " . According to Blair , who claimed to have attended the game as a high school student , Schulz played like a madman , making nearly all the tackles for 50 minutes , and Penn was held scoreless until Schulz was " carried from the field " . In a 1954 article , sports writer Dave Lewis wrote that Penn assigned five players to the task of mowing down Schulz . Lewis quoted Schulz as having said : " I can still see those five pairs of eyes staring at me every time we lined up . . . ready to tear me apart " . According to Lewis , all five men piled on Schulz every play , and Schulz held Penn scoreless for 50 minutes before they " finally knocked him out " . Lewis concluded : " Never before or since has there been such a one - man show of defensive football as Schulz displayed against Penn " . A few months before his death , Schulz told " Detroit News " sports writer H . G . Salsinger that he had only one regret : " I wish I could have lasted 10 minutes longer . That was one game I wanted to finish " . Awards and accolades . In January 1910 , Walter Camp published his All - Time All - American list in " Century " magazine , selecting the best player at each position over the 20 years he had been watching college football . He selected Schulz as his center , the first of many such All - Time All - American selections for Schulz . At the time , Camp said : " Big , strong and fast , he combined all the defensive and offensive qualities of the best line men with the speed , sure tackling and intuition as to what to do on the instant that are winning qualities of the defensive back . In addition , his passing was excellent , as he had plenty of speed for his kicker , steadiness for his quarter , and ability to pass in directions other than in a straight line which made him especially valuable in certain formation plays " . In 1949 , Grantland Rice chose him as the center for his All - Time All - American team . At the time , Rice said : " Schulz was 6 feet 4 and he weighed 245 pounds . He was as fast as a good halfback . I have never seen a center who was his equal at backing up a line and then protecting both flanks . He was a terrific tackler " . In 1951 , the College Football Foundation commissioned the Associated Press to conduct a poll of more than 100 sports editors to choose an All - Time All - American team . Those chosen would be the initial inductees into the new College Football Hall of Fame . Schulz won the great majority of the votes at center and thus became one of the initial inductees into the College Football Hall of Fame . In announcing the selection , the Associated Press said : " Schulz was a giant of a man — six feet five and 285 pounds — with tremendous ham - like hands that worked to his advantage in that era of mass formations when ground was gained on brute strength alone " . On being told of his selection , Schulz , who died ten days later , said he was honored and noted : " I haven ' t missed one of those teams yet " . He was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 1960 . He was also posthumously inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1979 . In 2004 , He was selected as one of the top fifteen football players in U - M history in 2004 by " The Michigan Daily " . Professional football in the Tri - State league . In 1909 and 1910 , Schulz played briefly in the infant Tri - State professional football league operating in Ohio , Illinois and Pennsylvania . He played for the Dayton Oakwoods team . His first game with the Oakwoods was on Thanksgiving 1909 . In that game , the Oakwoods defeated the Pittsburgh Lyceum , which had gone undefeated for three seasons and was considered the top professional team of its era . At the time of the 1910 United States Census , Schulz was listed as residing with his parents in Fort Wayne , and his occupation was listed as being an engineer with an electric works . The Oakwoods made Schulz an offer to return in 1910 as the team ' s captain , but contemporaneous press accounts indicate he was weighing the remuneration to be paid by the Oakwoods against his steady job at the Fort Wayne Electric works . Though some accounts indicate that he ultimately accepted the Oakwoods ' offer , official records of play have not been located to determine whether Schulz actually played for the Oakwoods in 1910 . In December 1910 , Schulz did play on an all - star team against the All - Harvard club in a game in Memphis , Tennessee , for the benefit of the United Charities association . College football coach and athletic director . University of Wisconsin . In 1911 and 1912 , Schulz worked as the line coach for the University of Wisconsin . After two years , he resigned to accept the management of an automobile concern in Fort Wayne . University of Michigan . Schulz returned to coaching in 1913 as the line coach and chief assistant coach for Fielding H . Yost at Michigan . He held that position for three seasons from 1913 – 1915 . While working as an assistant coach at Michigan , Schulz has been credited with introducing the technique of overshifting a lineman on defense . In 1913 , Schulz developed a new blocking technique by shifting one of the linemen . Coach Yost was unconvinced until Schulz performed a demonstration using Michigan ' s left guard Royce Traphagen . Schulz first put Traphagen in the line position designated by Yost , Schulz lined up on the other side of the line and charged , " almost wrecking Traphagen " . Then , Schulz had the groggy Traphagen line up in the spot designated by Schulz , and when Schulz charged he missed . Schulz implemented the overshift technique during the 1913 season . In late November 1915 , Schulz ' s mother , Sophia Schulz , died at age 65 . Two days after her death , Schulz announced that he was withdrawing from the Michigan coaching staff , though it was noted at the time that several Midwestern universities were working to get Schulz as their head coach . In January 1916 , the Fort Wayne Sentinel reported that Schulz was back to work at his old position in the general testing room at the Fort Wayne Electric works , after an absence of two years . Kansas State . In September 1916 , Schulz returned to coaching as the assistant athletic director at Kansas State Agricultural College , now known as Kansas State University . Schulz spent four years in Manhattan , Kansas , working as an assistant under head coach Zora G . Clevenger . When Kansas State beat Southwestern 53 – 0 , the Fort Wayne paper ran a story : “ Germany ’ s Team Wins . ” During the first three years under Schulz and Clevenger , the Wildcats went 16 – 4 – 1 and outscored their opponents 464 – 90 . However , in 1920 , Kansas State gave up 109 points ( more than in the three prior seasons combined ) and finished with a 3 – 5 – 1 . Schulz announced his resignation in January 1920 . In a draft registration card completed in September 1918 , Schulz identified his occupation as an athletic coach for the Kansas Agricultural College at Manhattan , Kansas . During World War I , Schulz also served as the athletic director at Fort Riley in Kansas . He was assigned to direct athletic exercises for the men serving at the camp . At the time of the 1920 United States Census , Schulz was listed as an athletic coach living in Manhattan , Kansas . Tulane University . In August 1920 , Schulz was hired by Tulane University in New Orleans , Louisiana , as the director of the school ' s new " department of physical education " . Reporters took note of Schulz ' s size when he arrived in New Orleans : " It is a fortunate thing for all concerned that Schulz has taken up the more peaceful pursuit of physical director . It is a stroke of good fortune for Tulane and her athletes that the athletic council was able to land a big man like Schulz " . Though he served as the school ' s athletic director , Schulz also chose to take charge of the linemen during football season , working alongside football coach Clark Shaughnessy . In 1920 , Schulz arranged for the Tulane football team to play Michigan as part of the most extensive trip made to that point by a southern football team . Schulz ' s team faced off against Coach Yost and the Wolverines on October 30 , 1920 , and were shut out , 21 – 0 . University of Detroit . In December 1922 , Schulz was hired as head football coach at the University of Detroit . Shortly after his appointment , Schulz announced that he was looking for " eleven raving maniacs " to fill out his team , a phrase that was picked up in wire service reports around the country . He noted : " You can ' t beat eleven raving maniacs with football heads " . In September 1923 , the press reported that Schulz suffered a shoulder injury while demonstrating proper tackling technique on a tackling " dummy " . After going 39 – 7 in the five seasons before Schulz took over , the Detroit team fell to 4 – 3 – 2 in 1923 . In January 1924 , the University announced that it would not renew Schulz ' s contract , and Schulz announced his " permanent retirement from football coaching " . Later life . Schulz worked in the insurance business , including as a state agent for an insurance company in Michigan , from 1924 until his death in 1951 . After retiring from football in the early 1920s , Schulz led a private life , and little has been written about the last 30 years of his life . At the time of the 1930 United States Census , Schulz was living in Grand Rapids , Michigan , with his wife , Emilie V . Schulz ( age 35 ) , his mother - in - law , Emilie V . Sabovian ( age 82 ) , and his sister - in - law , Louise Sabovian . His occupation was listed in the 1930 Census as an insurance salesman . Schulz died in 1951 , less than two weeks after being selected as the center on the All - Time All - American Team . Schulz had undergone an operation for a " malignant ulcer of the stomach " in February 1951 and suffered a relapse in April . He died at Detroit ' s Henry Ford Hospital at age 67 .