Bill Schmeisser

William Christian Schmeisser (1880–1941), known widely as "Father Bill", was an American lacrosse player, coach, and patron. He served as the head coach of the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays for ten non-consecutive years, and won eight national championships. He was also an active patron of the sport and promoter of its development. He helped found the highly successful amateur Mount Washington Lacrosse Club. Schmeisser viewed his role in the sport as altruistic, and he never received monetary compensation for coaching.

Education

He was born on August 4, 1880 in Baltimore, Maryland and attended high school at Baltimore City College, from which he graduated in 1899. He received his undergraduate college education at Johns Hopkins University and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1902. While at Hopkins, Schmeisser played as a defenseman on the lacrosse team from 1900 to 1902. He was also a member of the Beta Mu chapter of Phi Gamma Delta.

Schmeisser returned to Johns Hopkins for graduate study in the field of political economy, and played an additional year of lacrosse, in 1905. In 1907, he graduate from the school of law at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.