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

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player and coach. He played for

Saint Louis University Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...

. 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 forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridiron ...

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 with ...

, thrown by

Bradbury Robinson Bradbury Norton Robinson Jr. (February 1, 1884 – March 7, 1949) was a pioneering American football player, physician, nutritionist, conservationist and local politician. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin in 1903 and a ...

in a game at

Carroll College Carroll College is a private Catholic college in Helena, Montana. The college has 21 buildings on a 63-acre campus, has over 35 academic majors, participates in 15 NAIA athletic sports, and is home to All Saints Chapel. The college motto, in L ...

on September 5, 1906. Interviewed in a

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

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 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 M ...

assistant football coach Eddie Cochems in his move to St. Louis for the 1906 season. He also ran track at St. Louis and for

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 ...

at Chicago. Schneider served as the football coach and athletic director at Creighton University 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