Ambrose Schindler
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | April 22, 1917 Mission Hills, San Diego, California |
| Career information | |
| College: | USC |
| Position: | Quarterback |
| NFL draft: | 1940 / Round: 13 / Pick: 119 |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Ambrose "Amblin' Amby" Schindler (born April 22, 1917) is a former American collegiate football player, coach and Professional Football on-field official. He played college football for the University of Southern California.
Career
Schindler prepped at San Diego High School. A star quarterback for the USC Trojans, during the 1937 season he led the team in rushing, scoring and total offense and was named to all-conference honors.[1] His senior year, he led the Trojans to a share of the 1939 national championship: At the 1940 Rose Bowl, capping the 1939 season, Schindler ran for a touchdown and passed for another in a 14-0 victory over a Tennessee Volunteers team that had previously gone undefeated for 23 games and unscored upon for the previous 16 games (including the entire 1939 regular season); he was named the game's most valuable player. He went on to be the MVP in the 1940 College All-Star Game, held at Soldier Field in Chicago.[2][3]
During the end of his college career he also acted in Hollywood, appearing in The Wizard of Oz as Jack Haley's Tin Man stunt double. In one scene, which of course had to be reshot, an overly exuberant Schindler pulled loose The Cowardly Lion's tail as they climbed toward a mountaintop castle to rescue Dorothy from The Wicked Witch of the West. He also appeared in Sailor's Lady (1940). While he enjoyed acting and stunt work, he opted to leave Hollywood to focus on his coaching career.[2]
Although selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 1940 draft, Schindler did not play in the National Football League. At the time, coaching at high school and college offered more financial security than the low pay NFL of the early 1940s. His first offer out of college was to coach at Glendale High School, so chose it over a professional career. He served in the Navy during World War II and returned to move into a long career as coach and instructor at El Camino College in Torrance, California. In addition, Schindler also was a longtime football game official, working for years in the American Football League and later officiating high school and college games.[2]
He was inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions Breitbard Hall of Fame in 1973.[4] He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2002.[5]
Personal life
Parks Ambrose Schindler was one of three children born to Charles Anthony Schindler (1880-1961) and Nellie Ethel Parks (1880-1957). Schindler married his wife, Lucille Frances West (1917-1984), on August 29, 1943, and they together had two children. He did occasionally think about what his life would have been like if he played professional football, but part of his decision to select a more, at the time, stable career was because of his wife.[2]
Schindler loves surfing and bicycling and was an active surfer until age 75. He drives a Jaguar with a vanity license plate reading "X USC QB".[2] He turned 100 in April 2017.[6]
See also
References
- ^ 1997 Inductees for USC Athletic Hall of Fame Annonced, USCTrojans.com, November 30, 1996, accessed July 12, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Jerry Crowe, Ambrose Schindler followed his own road to success at USC and beyond, Los Angeles Times, July 10, 2011, accessed July 12, 2011.
- ^ Sport: Kickoff, Time, September 9, 1940, accessed July 12, 2011.
- ^ Breitbard Hall of Fame, San Diego Hall of Champions, June 25, 2008, accessed July 12, 2011.
- ^ USC'S Ambrose Schindler Named to Rose Bowl Hall Of Fame, USCTrojans.com, November 1, 2002, accessed July 12, 2011.
- ^ Staff (2017-05-05). "THE BUZZ: Oz actor turns 100". The Petaluma Argus Courier. Retrieved 2017-05-16.