Bill Schmeisser

William Christian Schmeisser (August 4, 1880 – July 1, 1941), known widely as "Father Bill", 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 graduated from the school of law at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Role in lacrosse In 1902, he served as team captain and as a co-coach for Johns Hopkins alongside Ronald T. Abercrombie. That season, the team was awarded the Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (ILA) national championship. The following year, Schmeisser became the sole head coach, and the team again garnered the ILA championship. He returned to Hopkins as its head lacrosse coach from 1905 to 1909. Schmeisser took the position again from 1923 to 1925, and Johns Hopkins secured the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) championships in 1923 and 1924.

Schmeisser helped organize and played on the Mount Washington Lacrosse Club, In 1904, Schmeisser and Abercrombie co-authored Lacrosse: From Candidate to Team, a book which became the sport's standard text for the next fifty years. In 1919, he helped start the tradition in which flags bearing gold stars are attached to the goals prior to the season opener. This was first done to honor three former Hopkins players who were killed in action during the First World War. The tradition has continued to date and additional stars have been added for players killed in the Second World War and Viet Nam.

In 1928, Johns Hopkins won a postseason tournament to represent the United States in a lacrosse exhibition event during the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, and Schmeisser accompanied the team as an assistant coach. He also traveled to England in 1937 alongside the all-star team.

Schmeisser was a long-time official of the USILA, and he held positions that included member of the rules committee, chief referee, and president. He is also the namesake of the William C. Schmeisser Award, which is given annually to the most outstanding defenseman in NCAA Division I men's lacrosse.