David Hesser

David A. Hesser (January 1884 – February 13, 1908) was an American water polo player and swimmer who represented the United States at the 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis, Missouri. Competing for the New York Athletic Club team at the 1904 Olympics, he won a team gold medal.

Hesser was born in January 1884 in New York to Alfred M. and Mary Hesser.

Early swimming In January, 1903, Hesser won the 50-yard novice competition held at the New York Athletic Club in a time of 32.6 seconds. On November 14, 1903, Hesser tied for first place in the 100-yard swimming event held at the New York Athletic Club with a time very close to 1:10. In water polo events for the New York Athletic Club, Hesser was a frequent scorer. Gus Sundstrom served as one of his Hesser's water polo coaches at the New York Athletic Club. At around 155 pounds in 1905, Hesser was not the most experienced player on the NYAC team, but was aggressive in his play, and able to score against taller and heavier opponents.

1904 St. Louis Olympics At the 1904 Olympics, Hesser was sponsored by the New York Athletic Club (NYAC), and was a member of the NYAC Olympic water polo team that won the gold medal in the event. He was also a member of the NYAC Olympic relay team in the men's 4x50-yard freestyle relay which finished fourth in the event final. He was entered to compete in the 50 and 100-meter freestyle swimming events, but did not participate. The lake used for the life saving exhibition and water polo tournament was part of the agricultural exhibit, and some of the cattle from the agricultural exhibit walked into the lake. Although swimming and water polo were held in a different part of the lake, within a year of the competition, four of the water polo competitors were the fatal victims of typhus.