Bill Guckeyson

John William Guckeyson (; July 7, 1915 – May 21, 1944) was an American athlete and military aviator. He was the first University of Maryland football player selected in the NFL draft. Guckeyson was killed in combat as a fighter pilot during the Second World War. where he played football, basketball, and baseball, and ran track. He set the school javelin throw record: . In 1935 and 1936, he was named an All-Southern Conference football player and an honorable-mention All-American. Frank Dobson—who coached football for 40 years at Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina, Richmond, and Maryland—said Guckeyson was the best athlete he had known. He earned nine varsity letters during his four years at Maryland.

During his senior year, Guckeyson was elected class president. However, he turned down offers to play professional sports, and instead accepted a nomination to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point. the first Army soccer player to earn the distinction. Once again, he was elected class president. Captain Guckeyson was killed on a strafing run on 21 May 1944 when his P-51 Mustang was shot down. His remains are interred at the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-Avold, France.

In 1955, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School named its athletic playing field Guckeyson Memorial Stadium in his honor. and in 1982, the University of Maryland Athletic Hall of Fame. Maryland's M Club annually honors the university's most outstanding male student-athlete with the John W. Guckeyson award.