John Messmer (September 25, 1884 – November 8, 1971) 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 wit ...

player and discus thrower for the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

. He was selected as a second-team All-American by

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the syste ...

in 1908. In 1959, Messmer was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame.

Biography

A native of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, Messmer began his athletic career at Milwaukee East High School. In 1904, Messmer set a national high school record in the discus throw. Messmer enrolled at the

where he competed in track, football, baseball, swimming, water polo and crew, becoming the first Wisconsin athlete to win nine varsity letters in major sports. He was the captain of both the football and swim teams in 1907. In 1908, he was also selected by

as a second-team All-American at 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 a May 1908 meet in Chicago, Messmer threw for a distance of , a distance that would have taken the bronze medal two months later at the

1908 Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were or ...

. He reportedly won every discus competition he ever entered. He qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in 1908 with the best discus throw in the country, but he withdrew from the Olympic team because of a brother's illness. Messmer was also a member of the University of Wisconsin baseball team that toured Japan in 1909. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Messmer worked as a surveyor in the

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

area. He later became an architect in Milwaukee and worked on the design and supervised construction of such buildings as the Elks Club and

West Allis West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census. History The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, ...

City Hall, churches, halls, schools, banks, Concordia College and some industrial buildings. He also served as the general superintendent of

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous cou ...

construction from 1928 until his retirement in 1956. In 1959, Messmer was chosen unanimously for induction into the

Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michig ...

. The biography of Messmer at the Wisconsin Walk of Fame notes that, in addition to being captain of the football and swim teams, Messmer won three letters in each of track, football and baseball and concludes: "John Messmer might have been the most versatile athlete to ever compete at the University of Wisconsin." He was also inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Messmer, John 1884 births 1971 deaths American football guards Wisconsin Badgers football players