Ward ''King'' Meese (March 9, 1897 – January 23, 1968) was a player in the

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 ...

. He played with the

Milwaukee Badgers The Milwaukee Badgers was a professional American football team, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Mi ...

during the

1922 NFL season The 1922 NFL season was the third regular season of what was now called the National Football League (NFL); the league changed their name from American Professional Football Association (APFA) on June 24. The NFL fielded 18 teams during the s ...

and the

St. Louis All-Stars St. Louis All-Stars was a professional football team that played in the National Football League during the 1923 season. The team played at St. Louis, Missouri's Sportsman's Park. Ollie Kraehe owned, managed, coached and played guard for the team ...

during the

1923 NFL season The 1923 NFL season was the fourth regular season of the National Football League. For the first time, all of the clubs that were considered to be part of the NFL fielded teams. The new teams that entered the league were the Duluth Kelleys, the ...

before being a member of the

Hammond Pros The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team. History The Pros were established by local businessman Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young. Young, a boxing promoter and owner of ...

for the following two seasons. He also played for the Decatur Staleys while playing

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 ...

at the same time, playing Saturdays he would get on a train and play for Decatur on Sundays. The Staleys became the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

shortly after he retired. His family included his son Robert Meese who had four children and seven grandchildren. His son Andy Meese played semi-pro football for the Wabash Express before a shoulder injury.

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* Milwaukee Badgers players St. Louis All-Stars players Hammond Pros players Wabash Little Giants football players 1897 births 1968 deaths People from Van Wert, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio {{Amfoot-bio-stub