John Martin Vesser (October 1, 1900 – March 20, 1996) was an

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, coach of football and

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 ...

, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at

Idaho State University , mottoeng = "The truth will set you free" , established = , former_names = Academy of Idaho(1901–1915)Idaho Technical Institute(1915–1927) University of Idaho—Southern Branch(1927–1947)Idaho Stat ...

for nine seasons during 1941–1951.

Biography

Vesser was born in 1900 in

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; french: Cœur d'Alène, lit=Heart of an Awl ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the largest city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistica ...

. He played college football for

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, and was on the West squad for the inaugural East–West Shrine Game in December 1925. Vesser then played professionally for the

Los Angeles Wildcats Los Angeles Wildcats is a name shared by several American football teams from Los Angeles: *Los Angeles Wildcats (AFL) The Los Angeles Wildcats (also reported in various media as Pacific Coast Wildcats, Los Angeles Wilson Wildcats and Wilson's ...

and the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...

. Following his playing career, Vesser became a coach, first at the high school level, then joined the Idaho Southern Branch Bengals football team as an assistant coach in 1937. In 1941, Vesser succeeded

Guy Wicks Guy Plumb Wicks (June 8, 1902 – January 16, 1968) was an American coach of college athletics and a university administrator; he coached basketball, baseball, and football in the state of Idaho. Early years Born in Eustis, Nebraska, Wicks moved ...

as head coach; the school was renamed as Idaho State College in 1947. Vesser spent 11 years as head coach, during which the team competed in nine football seasons, as no teams were fielded in 1943 or 1945 due to World War II, compiling an overall record of . Vesser also served as head coach of the

Idaho State Bengals men's basketball The Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team represents Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big Sky Conference. They are currently led by head coach Ryan Looney and play their ho ...

team for several seasons, and was

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

at the college from 1952 to 1965. He was inducted to the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974, and the athletics hall of fame at Idaho State in 1979. Vesser died in 1996 in Pocatello, Idaho.

Head coaching record

College football

References

External links

*
Statscrew profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vesser, John 1900 births 1996 deaths American football ends Basketball coaches from Idaho Chicago Cardinals players High school football coaches in Idaho Idaho State Bengals athletic directors Idaho State Bengals football coaches Idaho State Bengals men's basketball coaches Idaho Vandals football players Los Angeles Wildcats players People from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Players of American football from Idaho