Walter Ree Holmer (December 5, 1902 – August 27, 1976) 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 and coach. He played professionally as a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

and

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

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 ...

(NFL) for the Chicago Bears,

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 ...

Boston Redskins The Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL), have also played as the Boston Braves, Boston Redskins, Washington Redskins, and Washington Football Team. Founded in 1932, the team has won fi ...

, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Holmer served as the head football coach at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

from 1942 to 1946 and at

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philant ...

from 1947 to 1950.

Playing

A native of

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island ...

, Holmer was a standout fullback at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

under Dick Hanley from 1926 to 1928. He was captain of the

1928 Northwestern Wildcats football team The 1928 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1928 college football season. In their second year under head coach Dick Hanley, the Wildcats compiled a 5–3 record (2–3 against Big Ten Conference opponents ...

and was named to the teat year's All-Big Ten Conference football team. Holmer then played five seasons in the NFL, where he completed 36 of 110 passes for 642 yards and 7 touchdowns and rushed for 266 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Coaching

In 1934,

Pat Hanley Leroy Bernard "Pat" Hanley (August 21, 1896 – July 20, 1966) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Boston University from 1934 to 1941, compiling a record of 35–24–5. Playing Hanley was born in ...

, Dick Hanley's brother and assistant coach, made Holmer his lead assistant. While coaching, BU, Holmer also earned a bachelor's degree in education from the Boston University College of Education. As an assistant, Holmer coached future NFL running back

Gary Famiglietti Gary J. Famiglietti (November 28, 1913 – July 13, 1986) was a professional American football player who played running back for nine seasons for the Chicago Bears and Boston Yanks. He was born in Medford, Massachusetts and attended college at B ...

and helped devleop Solly Nechtem, who had only played one year in high school, and Walter Williams, who had never played high school football, into top college players. In 1942, Hanley was ordered to active duty with the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and Holmer succeeded him as head coach. Holmer left B.U. in March 1943 to join the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

. After he completed his indoctrination course at the Navy pre-flight school at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

, Holmer remained at the school as an instructor for the Navy's physical training program for aviation. Boston University did not play football in 1943 or 1944, but returned to the field the following year under interim head coach

Robert McKelvey Robert Edward McKelvey was an American football player and coach. He served as the interim football coach at Boston University for the 1945 season, compiling a record of 0–3 while head coach Walt Holmer was serving in the United States Navy. M ...

. Holmer was discharged from the Navy later that year and resumed his coaching duties on November 5, 1945. He resigned after a 5–2–1 1946 season and became the physical education director at Cushing General Hospital in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a pop ...

. Three months after leaving Boston University, Holmer returned to football as the head coach at Colby College. He complied a 9–17–2 record over four seasons. He resigned on December 14, 1950. Holmer died on August 27, 1976, in

Cashmere, Washington Cashmere is a city in Chelan County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee– East Wenatchee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,060 at the 2010 census. The population was 3,157 at the 2018 estimates. Hist ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holmer, Walt 1902 births 1976 deaths American football quarterbacks American football running backs Boston Redskins players Boston University Terriers football coaches Chicago Bears players Chicago Cardinals players Colby Mules football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football players Pittsburgh Pirates (football) players People from Moline, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Illinois United States Navy personnel of World War II