Albert Wittmer Jr. (March 9, 1896 – March 10, 1950) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player and coach, lawyer, and state legislator. He was a native of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, who attended Allegheny High School and

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approx ...

. His father, Albert Wittmer, Sr., was a Pennsylvania native who worked as a butcher in a slaughterhouse. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Wittmer lived in Pittsburgh with his parents, two younger brothers and a younger sister. Wittmer attended Westminster College for one year before enrolling at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. Wittmer's education was interrupted by military service, as he served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Wittmer played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

and basketball at Princeton. He played at the halfback and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

positions in football and the

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

position in basketball and was selected as the captain of the basketball team in 1921. After graduating from Princeton, he served as the head coach of the

Princeton Tigers men's basketball The Princeton Tigers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Princeton University. The school competes in the Ivy League in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Tige ...

team for 10 years from 1922 to 1932. His record of 115–86 ranks him as the third winningest basketball coach in Princeton history. His 1924–25 team was retroactively named the national champion by the

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his owners ...

and the

Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...

. Wittmer also served as the line coach for the

Princeton Tigers football The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University and competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Ivy League. Princeton's foot ...

team for nine years from 1922 to 1930. In 1931, he was asked to take over as the head football coach and compiled a record in that capacity of 1–7. After retiring from coaching, Wittmer received a law degree from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

. He served in the New Jersey State Legislature in the early 1930s and later practiced law in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of w ...

. At the time of the

1930 United States Census The United States census of 1930, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated durin ...

, Wittmer was living in Princeton, New Jersey, with his wife, Leah Wittmer, and their daughter Mary (age 1-10/12) and Margaret (age 3-11/12). His profession at that time was listed as a lawyer in general practice. He died suddenly after suffering a heart attack at his sister's home following a party celebrating his 53rd birthday. He had been living with his sister since poor health had caused him to retire.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wittmer, Albert 1896 births 1950 deaths American football centers American football halfbacks American men's basketball players Princeton Tigers football coaches Princeton Tigers football players Princeton Tigers men's basketball coaches Princeton Tigers men's basketball players United States Navy personnel of World War I Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Pittsburgh Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Players of American football from Pittsburgh Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Guards (basketball)