Howard Henry Schultz (July 3, 1922 – October 30, 2009), nicknamed "Stretch" and "Steeple",[1] was an American baseball and basketball player from St. Paul, Minnesota.

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, Lou McKenna, the general manager of the Saints, recruited Schultz to play in the Class C level Northern League after his freshman year at Hamline.

[5] Schultz then was promoted to the St. Paul Saints in 1942, where he was noticed by Branch Rickey general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

[6][3] 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.