Christian Steinmetz (June 28, 1882 – June 11, 1963) was an American
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
player. He played forward 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. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
from 1903 to 1905. He was college basketball's leading scorer in the game's first 25 years from 1895 to 1920. He became known as the "Father of Wisconsin Basketball" and was inducted into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1961.
Early years
Steinmetz was born in
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, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
in 1882. He was the son of Chris, a Milwaukee real estate man, and Frances Steinmetz.
Steinmetz attended Milwaukee's
South Division High School where he was a member of the school's basketball and track teams. He led South Division to the state high school basketball championship in 1902 and was the state champion in the high jump that year.
University of Wisconsin
Steinmetz enrolled at the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
where he was a member of the
Badgers
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by the ...
' track and basketball teams from 1903 to 1905.
[ Despite his modest size at and , he became one of the greatest scorers in basketball history.] One writer who saw him play wrote: "He was a human dynamo on the basketball floor. Possessed of an uncanny eye for the basket and a bulldog on defense, Steinmetz always seemed to be at the right place at the right time. He was to basketball what Willie Heston
William Martin Heston (September 9, 1878 – September 9, 1963) was an American football player and coach. He played halfback at San Jose State University and the University of Michigan. Heston was the head football coach for Drake University ...
(of Michigan) was to football."[
]
Evolution of the game
Steinmetz was credited with being an innovator in technique. In an era when the underhand, two-handed shot was the norm, Steinmetz often used a "one-hander." Steinmetz later recalled that the one-hander was "always good for three or four baskets before they caught on to it."[ He also had the ability to rebound or catch a pass and shoot while in the air, "a feat that was unheard of in those days."][ In 1958, Steinmetz told a reporter that the modern game was as different from the game he played as "hearts is from poker." He concluded that the biggest change in the game was eliminating the "center jump," in which there was a jump ball at center court after every score. He noted: "It makes basketball a percentage game. Whichever team is hitting for the best percentage of their shots wins. It used to be that the good team would get the ball again in the center jump and one team would pull farther ahead of the other."]
Steinmetz played on the 1905 Wisconsin basketball team with College Football Hall of Fame coach Bob Zuppke
Robert Carl Zuppke (July 2, 1879 – December 22, 1957) was an American football coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign from 1913 until 1941, compiling a career college football record of 131–81â ...
and recalled that the game was rougher in its early days: "Zuppke and I played nine games in 10 nights, and were in every minute. Basketball in those days was football for lighter fellows. The officials allowed rougher play. Why, we wore moleskin pants or they would have tore them right off you the way they hung on."[
]
1903 and 1904 seasons
Basketball was in its infancy at the University of Wisconsin when Steinmetz arrived. The team was jokingly called the "squat tag team," had no coach and received no financial support from the university.[ Players supplied their own equipment, and Steinmetz later recalled the worn condition of the balls they had to use: "We seldom saw a new ball. The ones we used had lumps and corners on them."][
In 1904, Emmett Angell became the coach of the basketball team. The Badgers lost to ]Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
24–22 for the western championship.[ Steinmetz recalled that Wisconsin lost the game when "a fan sitting right on the edge of the court grabbed our guard's arm and kept him from throwing the ball in as time ran out."][ Steinmetz noted that they were running a set play in which Steinmetz would break down court, and Zuppke would throw a long, lead pass to him. After the fan's illegal participation, a "free-for-all battle" broke out, and Nebraska was declared the winner.]
1905 season
As a senior in 1905, Steinmetz was the captain of a 1905 Wisconsin team won that all of its games against western teams and claimed the western championship with a 29–24 win over 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 Springfiel ...
's University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
basketball team. The team lost the national championship in a three-hour game against Columbia in New York.[ A controversy surrounded the loss to Columbia, as Columbia insisted over Wisconsin's objection in using its own umpire and referee. The Wisconsin players complained that fouls by the Columbia players were overlooked, and Steinmetz had his jaw broken in the game. Further complicating matters, Columbia and Wisconsin played under different rules, and the game took three hours to finish because of arguments over the rules. Steinmetz later recalled that he carried a rule book in his pocket during the game. Also, Columbia's baskets had no backboards and instead consisted of hoops mounted on poles, which the Columbia players shook when Wisconsin shot the ball. Despite the broken jaw, Steinmetz scored 11 of Wisconsin's 14 points in a 25–14 loss.]
The Columbia game was part of a nine-game eastern trip. Steinmetz had received advance publicity and was being closely guarded. At Rochester University
Rochester University (formerly Rochester College) is a private Christian college in Rochester Hills, Michigan. It was founded by members of the Churches of Christ in 1959.
Rochester University is primarily undergraduate (though it offers so ...
, Bob Zuppke suggested that he take Steinmetz' place at forward to confuse the opposition. After the center jump, Steinmetz joined Zuppke at the forward spot. "We got several baskets before the other team woke up and made the necessary adjustment."[
During the 18-game 1905 season, Steinmetz averaged 25.7 points per game on a team that averaged 37.8 points per game. He set scoring records, some of which remain Wisconsin records: most points in a game (50 points against Sparta), most points in a season (462 points in 18 games), most free throws in a game (26 against Two Rivers), most free throws in a season (238), and most free throw attempts in a season (317). Steinmetz's single-game, free-throw record, set at a time when one player took all of the team's free throws, has never been broken.][
He scored 20 field goals in a game against ]Beloit College
Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and h ...
, falling one basket short of the national record. He later recalled, "The game was stopped five minutes early so Beloit could catch a train. Otherwise I might have had another record."[ He left Wisconsin with a career total of 962 points, a school record that stood for 40 years.
In Wisconsin's 1905 ''Badger'' yearbook, Steinmetz wrote about the team's championship season:]The team began its season by overwhelmingly defeating various teams throughout the State, and its first championship game was played against Beloit College. In our own gymnasium we defeated her by the large score of 80 to 10, and it was this game that furnished a criterion as to how strong a team Wisconsin really had. During our invasion of the East we played a longer and harder schedule than any university team had ever attempted. Playing the strongest and best teams of the East and under a very different interpretation of the basketball rules, we were able to make an excellent showing. Columbia University, the Eastern intercollegiate champions, defeated us by a score of 21 to 15 in a hard fought game and not until the last minutes of play did she wrest the game from our grasp.
Although no such award existed at the time, the Helms Foundation later selected a College Basketball Player of the Year for each year dating back to 1905. Steinmetz was named the Player of the Year for 1905. He was the first person selected to receive the Player of the Year award, and 1905 was the first year for which a recipient was selected.
Later years
After graduating, Steinmetz became a lawyer, practicing in Milwaukee for 50 years. He was active in coaching and officiating basketball for several years.[ For 19 years, Steinmetz selected the All-Western basketball team for Spalding's Official Basketball Guide.][
Steinmetz was recognized with multiple honors in his later years. In 1954, he was honored as the "Father of Wisconsin Basketball" at a testimonial dinner at the ]Milwaukee Athletic Club
The Milwaukee Athletic Club (often referred to as The MAC), is a private, social and full-service athletic club.
History
Eight young men founded the Milwaukee Athletic Club on September 18, 1882, for the express purpose of "developing of the b ...
. At the time, ''Milwaukee Sentinel
The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currentl ...
'' sports editor said, "we are honoring one of the great guys in the history of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the South Side."
He was inducted into the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame in 1957, the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1958, and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1961.[ At the induction into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame, Steinmetz quipped, "I won't have to talk about my records. Modesty forbids. They speak for themselves."][ He also joked about having been overlooked in prior years: "I'd been waiting for it since the first election of the board. The hardest thing I had to do was sit there and wait to be called."][
Steinmetz married Bessie Engel in November 1908. They had three sons, Christian, Allan and Don, and one daughter, Ruth. All three sons played varsity basketball for the University of Wisconsin, and all three became lawyers.][ At the time of his induction into the Helms Foundation's Basketball Hall of Fame, Steinmetz said that he was proudest of the fact that "I had three sons who won basketball letters at Wisconsin. When we're all home that makes four of us at the table and you don't find many tables like that."][
Steinmetz suffered a stroke in 1962 and a second stroke in 1963. He died at St. Luke's Hospital in Milwaukee three weeks after the second stroke at age 80.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinmetz, Christian
1882 births
1963 deaths
All-American college men's basketball players
American people of German descent
Basketball players from Milwaukee
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball players
American men's basketball players
Forwards (basketball)
South Division High School alumni