Adam Martin Wyant (September 15, 1869 – January 5, 1935) was an American politician who served as

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He served six terms, a total of twelve years, in the House. Wyant is also remembered for being the first professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player to be elected to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. He played football from 1895 until 1897 with the

Greensburg Athletic Association The Greensburg Athletic Association was an early organized football team, based in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, that played in the unofficial Western Pennsylvania Professional Football Circuit from 1890 until 1900. At times referred to as the Greensb ...

, an early professional club from

Greensburg, Pennsylvania Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city lies within the Laurel Highlands and the ecoregion of the Western Allegheny Plateau (ecoregion), W ...

. He is also known for playing collegiate football for

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering. ...

and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

from 1890 through 1893. During his playing career, Wyant was cited by his coach at Chicago,

Amos Alonzo Stagg Amos Alonzo Stagg (August 16, 1862 – March 17, 1965) was an American athlete and college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football. He served as the head football coach at the International YMCA Training School (now called Springfie ...

, as “one of the best men that ever donned the canvas jacket” (which was then a part of the football uniform). Wyant also served at one time as principal of the Greensburg schools before becoming a U.S. Congressman. His brother,

Andy Andy may refer to: People * Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds * Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pi ...

, played at Bucknell and Chicago, under Amos Alonzo Stagg. He was elected into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1962.

Biography

Adam Wyant was born near Kittanning on his family's rural farm in the village of Montgomeryville, son of Christian Yerty Wyant and Elizabeth John, both of Washington Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. Adam was named after his paternal grandfather whose ancestors (originally spelled Weyandt) were early German settlers of Bedford County, Pennsylvania arriving in October 1770 from

Freinsheim Freinsheim (; Palatine German: Fränsem) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With about 5,000 inhabitants, it is among the state's smaller towns. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a ...

, Palatinate, Germany. Adam attended the Mount Pleasant Institute, which is located in

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,1 ...

, and also attended Bucknell for three years, playing on pioneer football teams there with his brother Andy. When Any left Bucknell to attend the

University of Chicago Divinity School The University of Chicago Divinity School is a private graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries. Formed under Baptist auspices, the school today lacks any s ...

, Adam followed his brother to Chicago and played

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 ...

for the legendary coach, Amos Alonzo Stagg. In 1895, Adam graduated from the University of Chicago and returned to western Pennsylvania to teach in Mt. Pleasant. He moved to

, in 1896. In Greensburg, Wyant was widely known for his football skills and, at 6'0" and 196 pounds, he was considered a big person for that era. In the fall of 1895, was one of four college stars signed to play professionally with the Greensburg Athletic Association. His teammeates consisted of

Lawson Fiscus Ira Lawson Fiscus (1866-1949) was one of the first professional football players. He attended Princeton University, where his outstanding play at offensive guard earned him the title Samson of Princeton, before going on to play professionally wit ...

and

Charlie Atherton Charles Morgan Herbert Atherton (November 19, 1874 – December 17, 1935) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman. Nicknamed "Prexy", he batted and threw right-handed, was tall and weighed 160 pounds. He was an accomplished musician ...

. Wyant played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the team, a position that was not too different from guard in the style of play at the time. In 1896, while still playing pro football, he became the first principal of Greensburg High School and soon thereafter became the city's first superintendent of schools. In the summer of 1897, he ended his football career and studied law at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, and was admitted to the

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 364,663. The county seat is Greensburg. Formed from, successively, Lancaster, Northumberland, and later Bedford co ...

Bar in 1902. He then commenced the practice of law in Greensburg. He was interested in

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

mining and other business enterprises. In 1910, Wyant married Katherine N. Doty, the daughter of a Westmoreland County judge. In 1920, he was elected as a Republican to the

67th United States Congress The 67th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 192 ...

. He won the state's 22nd congressional district with the largest majority ever given a Republican candidate in the district's history. He was then re-elected five more times. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1932.

Death

He resumed his former business pursuits and died in Greensburg, after succumbing to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on January 5, 1935. He was interred in the St. Clair Cemetery."Wyant, Adam Martin," ''The Political Graveyard''.

Electoral history

Minor party candidates not shown
Election winner in bold

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyant, Adam Martin 1869 births 1935 deaths American athlete-politicians 19th-century players of American football Players of American football from Pennsylvania Chicago Maroons football players Bucknell Bison football players Greensburg Athletic Association players Pennsylvania lawyers People from Greensburg, Pennsylvania University of Chicago alumni University of Pittsburgh alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania