Christian Steinmetz

Christian Steinmetz (June 28, 1882 – June 11, 1963) was an American basketball player. He played forward for the University of Wisconsin from 1903 to 1905. He was college basketball's leading scorer in the game's first 25 years from 1895 to 1920. He became known as the "Father of Wisconsin Basketball" and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1961.

Early years Steinmetz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1882. He was the son of Chris, a Milwaukee real estate man, and Frances Steinmetz.

Steinmetz attended Milwaukee's South Division High School where he was a member of the school's basketball and track teams. He led South Division to the state high school basketball championship in 1902 and was the state champion in the high jump that year.

University of Wisconsin Steinmetz enrolled at the University of Wisconsin where he was a member of the Badgers' track and basketball teams from 1903 to 1905. One writer who saw him play wrote: "He was a human dynamo on the basketball floor. Possessed of an uncanny eye for the basket and a bulldog on defense, Steinmetz always seemed to be at the right place at the right time. He was to basketball what Willie Heston (of Michigan) was to football."

Steinmetz played on the 1905 Wisconsin basketball team with College Football Hall of Fame coach Bob Zuppke and recalled that the game was rougher in its early days: "Zuppke and I played nine games in 10 nights, and were in every minute. Basketball in those days was football for lighter fellows. The officials allowed rougher play. Why, we wore moleskin pants or they would have tore them right off you the way they hung on."

1905 season As a senior in 1905, Steinmetz was the captain of a 1905 Wisconsin team won that all of its games against western teams and claimed the western championship with a 29–24 win over Amos Alonzo Stagg's University of Chicago basketball team. The team lost the national championship in a three-hour game against Columbia in New York.

The Columbia game was part of a nine-game eastern trip. Steinmetz had received advance publicity and was being closely guarded. At University of Rochester, Bob Zuppke suggested that he take Steinmetz' place at forward to confuse the opposition. After the center jump, Steinmetz joined Zuppke at the forward spot. "We got several baskets before the other team woke up and made the necessary adjustment."

Although no such award existed at the time, the Helms Foundation later selected a College Basketball Player of the Year for each year dating back to 1905. Steinmetz was named the Player of the Year for 1905. He was the first person selected to receive the Player of the Year award, and 1905 was the first year for which a recipient was selected.

Later years After graduating, Steinmetz became a lawyer, practicing in Milwaukee for 50 years. He was active in coaching and officiating basketball for several years.

He was inducted into the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame in 1957, the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1958, and the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1961. All three sons played varsity basketball for the University of Wisconsin, and all three became lawyers.