John Depler, Football • 1918-20

John Depler earned All-America honors as a center in 1918, 1919 and 1920, including being named consensus All-American in 1918. He helped lead the 1918 and 1919 teams to Big Ten titles, and the 1919 squad to a national championship. Depler was First-Team All-Big Ten in 1919 and 1920. Following his collegiate career, he played for the Hammond Pros of the NFL in 1921. Depler went on to coach eight years as an assistant at Columbia, then returned as a player with the Orange Tornadoes in 1929. He co-founded the Brooklyn Dodgers professional football team in 1930 and served as an owner until 1933. Depler died in 1970 at age of 71.