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Inducted 1974   Growing
up in Iron Mountain, Michigan, John attended Iron Mountain High School
where he played football and ran track.
He entered Lake Forest in 1935 and earned two letters in baseball and four in football. Captain of the football team his senior, he was a member of the undefeated 1938 team. He was named to the Little All-American team and was an All-Conference and All-Illinois. Treasurer of Digamma Alpha Upsilon, he was also on the Intramural Sports Board, the Athletic Board of Control, and was a member of the Stentor staff and the L.F. Club. Graduating with a economics and education degree, he pursued a professional football career. He played one season for the 1939 championship Green Bay Packers. He then served as assistant coach with the Kenosha Cardinals for the 1940 season. His professional sports career was interrupted by World War II, where he served as a naval aviator until 1944. Upon his return from the war, he began a long career as an educator and coach. In 1945 he took the head basketball coach position at St. Norbert College and also served as assistant athletic director. In 1951 he moved to West High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin and served as assistant principal and coach, leading his teams to four straight undefeated seasons. Named the Fox Valley Conference Coach of the Year five times, he led several teams to the Wisconsin Championships in football and track and eventually became principal of the school. He was selected to the All Upper Peninsula Hall of Fame and the Wisconsin State Coaches Hall of Fame. Elected to six years on the WIAA Advisory Council, which oversees high school athletics in Wisconsin, he also served as president of the council. After retirement he volunteered with the AARP TAX-AIDE Program and remained active in the American Legion. A member of the Green Bay Packer Alumni Association, Phi Delta Kappa, he served four terms as president and also served as Director of the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame.
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