Remembrances: Schaumburg Remembers Von Schaumburg's "Fight Like A Champion"
Former Football, Baseball Standout who Passed Away in June After 10-Year Battle with ALS Will be Honored Before Tonight's Home Football Game
There was nothing surprising about Eric Von Schaumburg defying the odds in the biggest and toughest fight of his life.
Von Schaumburg, a junior starter at safety on Schaumburg’s 1999 Class 6A football state runner-up, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) on June 19, 2013 at age 29. A night to honor Von Schaumburg’s “Fight Like A Champion” was set up by head football coach Mark Stilling for the final game of that season 10 years ago.
The fact Von Schaumburg was still alive, as his parents Bob and Deb, his younger brother Josh and Stilling made plans in the spring for a 10-year reunion game, was a remarkable feat with a disease where the typical life expectancy is 2-to-5 years. Living 10 more years (Eric passed away June 18) after he received his diagnosis was a testament to his fighting spirit.
The family and Stilling moved ahead with the plans for the reunion at tonight’s home game at 7 o’clock against Barrington. There will be a pregame ceremony on the field with Von Schaumburg’s family to honor Eric.
Von Schaumburg, who was also a varsity starter in baseball, had a unique and unforgettable name connection to his high school. But it’s also important for people at Schaumburg High School, in the Schaumburg community and beyond to remember just what it meant to “Fight Like a Champion” like Eric Von Schaumburg.
Steve Kolodziej
Kolodziej was in his second season as the starting quarterback as a junior for the 1999 state runner-up. As seniors, Kolodziej and Von Schaumburg were part of a team that had a perfect regular season and won the Mid-Suburban West title. Kolodziej played at Illinois State and had successful stints as a girls basketball head coach at Buffalo Grove and a football assistant for his brother-in-law Matt Mishler at Rolling Meadows. He has been an assistant principal at Elk Grove since August 2021.
“I first knew of Eric from Schaumburg Park District baseball. With the last name Von Schaumburg, not only could you see it barely fit on the uniform on the back, but you could certainly see how athletic he was. He was an extremely emotional leader in a good way. Practice every day was a challenge against him and he was always about making his teammates better because of the competitive nature he had and the emotional leader he was. He was so passionate to do everything he could to get the most out of everybody.
“He fell in with everybody. He was very inclusive and that followed him all the way through as we became young adults. We’d golf with a bunch of buddies and even then he was competitive. He had the pursuit of excellence in everything he did. When he was working and still able to work it was the same thing. He was climbing quickly and extremely smart and he had the work ethic … he wasn’t going to allow you to take shortcuts.
“He hung on and fought a hell of a battle. He talked about how he was going to beat it and be around longer.”
Tom Mueller
Mueller was a longtime teacher, counselor and assistant coach in baseball and basketball at Schaumburg.
“He was an unbelievable person and at that age (29), to have that happen to him so suddenly, to a kid as strong as him (was a shock). What a tremendous kid. Not only on the field and court but off the field and in the classroom. Everybody loved him. He had such a positive attitude in life. He was one of the most positive kids I’ve ever met and he had a great sense of humor.
“He would boost us up as coaches (along with head baseball coach Paul Groot) if things weren’t going right. He was friends to all kinds of kids in the school and younger kids looked up to him big-time. He epitomized what Schaumburg was all about.
“(Mark) Stilling took the bull by horns and started “E Strong.” I’m proud of him for doing that.”
Mark Stilling
Stilling, now in his 19th year as Schaumburg’s head football coach, was a sophomore coach in the program during the 1999 season. He came up to the varsity to work with Von Schaumburg and the defensive backs during the postseason run to Champaign. He and his wife Jami were instrumental in helping Von Schaumburg and his family during Eric’s battle.
“We had planned in the spring with Bob, Deb and Josh to have a 10-year reunion game. When he passed away we sat down and said we wanted to have the game to honor his memory. We’ve been selling shirts and trying to get students and staff to wear them to the game to honor Eric.
“It was an amazing number of people who were there (at the July celebration of life) and the number of people he touched in so many different circles of life. The game “Fight Like A Champion” is obviously personal to me with my relationship with Eric. It’s important for people who knew Eric, were associated with Eric and close to Eric. It’s a message of the power of the human spirit. And it’s important for people who don’t know Eric.
“In 2013, Eric walked out at every game with 2-by-4 painted with ‘Fight Like A Champion.’ We’re using it again this year and sharing the history of 10 years and why we did it. It’s a way to tell high school kids it’s about being about more than yourself.”
Jason Hawkins
Hawkins was the senior all-state running back who also started at safety alongside Von Schaumburg for the 1999 team. He said the mix of players from his class and those from the junior class like Von Schaumburg was a key to their success. Hawkins went on to play at Northern Illinois and still lives in DeKalb where he is an entrepreneur with an agricultural sales company as his primary business. He is also a farmer, owns some real estate property and has been a successful stock car racer. His son Nick is a freshman tight end at Illinois State.
“Eric was always in a good mood. His shoulder pads were so big and he was always dragging so much equipment to practice. He was like the Pig Pen character out of Snoopy and Charlie Brown. He was always in a great mood and had a really good sense of leadership.
“Communication during games is crucial and I was the strong safety and he was the free safety. When there was movement and motion on offense we had to communicate and switch coverages. A lot of times it was through hand signals and the communication with him was very phenomenal. We would just look at each other and he was able to take care of his side and I was able to take care of my side. We made very few mistakes back there. He was a very smart kid.”
Eric Von Schaumburg
These are a few quotes from the 2013 column where I was fortunate to have the opportunity to talk with Eric after his diagnosis and before the first “Fight Like A Champion” night.
What he knew about Lou Gehrig: “I knew he had a horrible disease and I knew about his famous last speech at Yankee Stadium. I don’t even think I knew Lou Gehrig’s Disease was ALS and that it was horrible.”
The possibility of playing football at Northwestern as a preferred walk-on thanks to the help of late Schaumburg head coach Tom Cerasani: “I knew I wouldn’t be playing and my dad famously said to me, when considering the cost differences of Illinois vs. other schools, ‘You can go to any Big Ten school you want … as long as it’s U of I.’”
Getting the diagnosis: “I was numb for about three days, no feelings, nothing. An out-of-body experience for sure. My friends and family were all equally stunned. I was depressed for about three weeks and then I realized … this isn’t me.”
Fighting like a champion: “So you can imagine how hard I will be fighting. No one loves life more than me, so I will fight to keep that as normal as possible.”
Don’t forget to laugh: “I was offended when a friend sent out an email making fun of all of us and it didn’t include my ALS. I required him to respond with three ALS jokes and he did. You have to keep a sense of humor about it all and just enjoy life. It’s way too short to be miserable or sit around not doing something fun.”
The Von Schaumburg family has set up a GoFundMe page in Eric’s memory to raise funds for ALS research and families who are in need. You can go to that page and make a donation by clicking on the button below.
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