John George Schneider (February 15, 1894 – May 13, 1957) was a professional

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 wi ...

player in the "

Ohio League The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct pr ...

" and the early

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the Columbus Panhandles. He played from around 1909 until 1921 with the Panhandles. In 1920 he played in one of the first NFL games during a Panhandles 14-0 loss to the Dayton Triangles. He was a teammate of the Panhandles' infamous Nesser Brothers and later married their sister Mary Rose. However, on one occasion John did not play for Columbus. According to his daughter, Cassidy, the Panhandles sometimes would go to different places and the opposing team would not have enough players. To keep the game scheduled, the opposing team would take somebody from the Panhandles. They were never allowed to take one of the Nesser brothers. During one such game, John, was picked to play against his own team and the Nessers. 'I was the poor fool who got picked to play against the Nessers, and they pulverized me.' He used to say, 'I think that was my scariest day, other than the day I asked the brothers if I could marry their sister.'

References

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Forgotten NFL Family: the Nesser Brothers of Columbus, Ohio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, John 1894 births 1957 deaths American people of German descent Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio Columbus Panhandles players Columbus Panhandles (Ohio League) players Nesser family (American football)