John Sieba Roosma (September 3, 1900 – November 13, 1983) was an amateur basketball player during the 1920s. He played for the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

for five years, graduating in 1926. The

Passaic, New Jersey Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,78 ...

native was a prolific scorer and became the first college player to total 1,000 points for his career. As a member of

Ernest Blood Ernest Artel Blood (October 4, 1872, Manchester, New Hampshire – February 5, 1955) was a high school and college men's basketball coach. He was best known for his "Wonder Teams" at New Jersey's Passaic High School, which lost only one game in the ...

's Passaic "Wonder Teams" Roosma gained almost legendary status already in high school on a team that won 179 consecutive games. Roosma captained the team and led them as scorer in three state tournaments (1919–21). After graduating from Passaic High School in 1921, General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

recruited Roosma to play for the Army Black Knights. In five years the Roosma-led Black Knights compiled a 73–13 record and won 33 consecutive games at one point. After a 74-game career, Roosma totaled 1,126 points, being the first college player to score more than 1,000 in his career (

Christian Steinmetz Christian Steinmetz (June 28, 1882 – June 11, 1963) was an American basketball player. He played forward for the University of Wisconsin from 1903 to 1905. He was college basketball's leading scorer in the game's first 25 years from 1895 to 1 ...

held the record with 950 points, in 40 games played in three years overall). Roosma was inducted to the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

in 1961. West Point's basketball

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

award is named after him. Roosma became a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the US Army. He was stationed in Hawaii when the Japanese attacked at Pearl Harbor and then went on to lead the 334th Combat Infantry Regiment into Germany."Col. John Roosma Dead at 83; Basketball Star at West Point"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', November 14, 1983. Accessed January 11, 2008. Roosma retired in 1956 after thirty years of military service. Roosma married Marjorie Perine Henion on August 3, 1926 in Passaic, New Jersey. They had three sons, all of whom attended West Point. The eldest, John Jr., left before graduating and joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

, retiring as a colonel. The twins, Garret and William, graduated in 1958.

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

became a career Army officer, retiring as a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. Garret served in the army and Army Reserve, and retired as a colonel. Roosma and his wife had seven grandchildren. After retirement, Roosma served several years as the commandant of cadets at the

Bordentown Military Institute The Bordentown Military Institute was a private high school in Bordentown, New Jersey, United States, from 1881 to 1973. History The institute was created in 1881, when Reverend William Bowen (minister), William Bowen purchased the Spring Villa Fem ...

. He died in his home in Verona, New Jersey on November 13, 1983. Roosma and his wife were buried at the West Point Cemetery. In 2006, he became an inaugural member of the

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roosma, John 1900 births 1983 deaths American men's basketball players Sportspeople from Passaic, New Jersey Passaic High School alumni Army Black Knights men's basketball players United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from New Jersey United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army colonels People from Verona, New Jersey Basketball players from Essex County, New Jersey Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Burials at West Point Cemetery National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees American people of Estonian descent