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 and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

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 (appro ...

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

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, who attended Allegheny High School and

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent college-preparatory boarding and day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximately 4 ...

. 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 The 1910 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau on April 15, 1910, determined the resident population of the United States to be 92,228,496, an increase of 21 percent over the 76,212,168 persons enumerated during the 1900 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 university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

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

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Wittmer played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

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 Tiger ...

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 owner ...

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) NCAA Division I Football Championship, Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member ...

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 (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

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

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

. At the time of the

1930 United States census The 1930 United States census, 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 during t ...

, 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 Players of American football from Pittsburgh Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Guards (basketball) 20th-century American sportsmen