Oberlin College Athletics

Alfred George "Al" Wheeler was born March 2, 1899, in Oberlin, Ohio. Wheeler earned nine letters, four in football, three in basketball, and two in baseball. He was captain of the basketball team during his junior and senior years and earned All-Ohio honors in basketball and football during his senior year. One of the highlights of Wheeler's athletic career at Oberlin was his seven-yard touchdown pass to teammate W.E. Parkhill, capping an 85-yard drive for a 7-6 win over Ohio State in 1921. After graduating from Oberlin College with a B.A. in physical education in 1922, Wheeler played professional basketball for one year with the Rosenblum team of Cleveland. From 1925-1927, Wheeler coached the freshman football team at Iowa State College and served as an assistant to Nelson Metcalf, a 1912 graduate of Oberlin College and 1992 Heisman Hall of Fame inductee. Wheeler earned his master's degree in health and physical education from Columbia University in 1937. The following fall, he was hired at Peru State Teachers College as a coach and administrator. His overall football record was 133-51-12 and his team won or shared seven Nebraska Conference titles. He won NCC championships in all three sports. Wheeler twice earned the distinction of Nebraska College Coach of the Year, in 1952 by the Omaha World-Herald and in 1961 by the Lincoln Sunday Journal and Star. In 1952, he was selected "Little All-American Coach of the Year" by the Rockne Club of Kansas City. Wheeler served as district chairman for the NAIA for 12 years and was a member of the NAIA executive committee for seven years. He was president of the NAIA from 1953-1954. In 1956, Wheeler was elected to the Helms Foundation Hall of Fame in Los Angeles. Alfred George Wheeler retired from Peru State College on June 1, 1965, and moved to North Carolina, where he died on June 16, 1982. Wheeler was elected posthumously into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame.