John J. Schommer enshrined as a player in 1959

John J. Schommer

Enshrined 1959
Born: January 29, 1884
Chicago, IL
Died: January 11, 1960

A three-time basketball All-America and member of the Helms Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame, John Schommer was a fiery competitor and true winner. Known as "Mr. Everything" at the University of Chicago, Schommer was one of the twentieth century's first great all-around athletes. By competing in four sports -- football, basketball, baseball, and track -- he became the first athlete in Chicago's school history to win twelve varsity letters. In four years, Mr. Everything lost only seven basketball games and led Chicago to three straight Big Ten titles from 1907 to 1909. He was the Western Conference scoring leader from 1906 to 1909, and in the 1907-08 final game of the regular season that would determine the national champion, Schommer made an 80-foot field goal with only seconds remaining to help Chicago defeat the University of Pennsylvania. Schommer is also credited by some sources with inventing glass backboards.