William John Schneider (May 16, 1883 – April 17, 1958) was an American

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 ...

player and coach. He played for

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Missi ...

. He is credited with making the first legal reception of a

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The legal and widespread use of the forward pass distinguishes grid ...

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 ...

, thrown by Bradbury Robinson in a game at Carroll College on September 5, 1906. Interviewed in a

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

hospital room in 1956, 50 years after the play, Schneider remembered what was also the first pass reception for touchdown in the game's history. "We were in the second half and the game was tied when Robinson called the pass. Actually Robinson was an end and I was a fullback. But Brad could throw the ball a long way, so we switched positions for that one play. "We were told to run after the snap and just keep going until we heard the passer yell 'hike' or our name. So, I ran and ran. I was about to give up when I heard Robinson call. I turned and caught the ball a yard or so short of the goal and went over with it."''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' (St. Louis, Missouri) · Fri, December 7, 1956 · Page 35 Schneider was one of the "Wisconsin boys" who followed former

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

assistant football coach

Eddie Cochems Edward Bulwer Cochems (; February 4, 1877 – April 9, 1953) was an American football player and coach. He played football for the University of Wisconsin from 1898 to 1901 and was the head football coach at North Dakota Agricultural College—n ...

in his move to St. Louis for the 1906 season. He also ran track at St. Louis and for Alonzo Stagg at Chicago. Schneider served as the football coach and athletic director at

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

in 1909,Creighton University School of Law, Creighton University, ''The Creighton Brief'', page 92, 1909
/ref> before joining many of his St. Louis football teammates in pursuing a career as a medical doctor.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* 1883 births 1958 deaths 20th-century American physicians Chicago Maroons men's track and field athletes Creighton Bluejays athletic directors Creighton Bluejays football coaches Saint Louis Billikens football players {{collegefootball-player-stub