Adam Martin Wyant
Encyclopedia
Adam Martin Wyant was an American politician who served as Republican
member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
. He served six terms, a total of 12 years, in the House. However Wyant is also best remembered for being the first professional football
player to be elected to the United States Congress
. From 1895 until 1897, Wyant played football with the Greensburg Athletic Association
, an early professional club from Greensburg, Pennsylvania
.
He is also known for playing collegiate football
for Bucknell University
and the University of Chicago
from 1890 through 1893. During his playing career, Wyant was cited by his coach at Chicago, Amos Alonzo Stagg
, as “one of the best men that ever donned the canvas jacket” (which was then a part of the football uniform). Wyant also served at one time as principal of the Greensburg schools before becoming a U.S. Congressman.
Adam's brother, Andy
, also played at Bucknell and Chicago, under Amos Alonzo Stagg. He was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1962.
, on his family's rural farm in the village of Montgomeryville
. He later attended the Mount Pleasant Institute, and Bucknell, located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
. He attended Bucknell for three years, playing on pioneer football teams there with his brother Andy. Afterwards Andy, left Bucknell to attend the University of Chicago Divinity School
. Adam followed his brother to Chicago and played guard
for the legendary coach, Amos Alonzo Stagg. In 1895, Adam graduated from the University of Chicago and returned to western Pennsylvania to teach in Mt. Pleasant
. He moved to Greensburg, Pennsylvania
, in 1896.
In Greensburg, Wyant was widely known for his football skills and, at 6'0" and 196 pounds, he was considered a big person for that era. In the fall of 1895, was one of four college stars signed to play professionally with the Greensburg Athletic Association. His teammeates consisted of Lawson Fiscus
and Charlie Atherton
. Wyant played quarterback
for the team, a position that was not too different from guard in the style of play at the time. In 1896, while still playing pro football, he became the first principal of Greensburg High School
and soon thereafter became the city's first superintendent of schools.
In the summer of 1897, Adam ended his football career and studied law at the University of Pittsburgh
where he studied law, and was admitted to the Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Bar in 1902. He then commenced the practice of law in Greensburg. He was interested in coal
mining and other business enterprises. In 1910, Wyant married Katherine N. Doty, the daughter of a Westmoreland County judge.
In 1920 Wyant was elected as a Republican to the 67th United States Congress
. He won the state's 22nd congressional district
with the largest majority ever given a Republican candidate in the district's history. He was then re-elected five more times. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1932. He resumed his former business pursuits and died in Greensburg, after succumbing to cancer
on January 5, 1935. He was interred in St. Clair Cemetery.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He served six terms, a total of 12 years, in the House. However Wyant is also best remembered for being the first professional football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player to be elected to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. From 1895 until 1897, Wyant played football with the Greensburg Athletic Association
Greensburg Athletic Association
The Greensburg Athletic Association was an early organized football team, based in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, that played from 1890 until 1900. The team began as an amateur football club in 1890 and was composed primarily of locals before several professional players were added for the 1895 season...
, an early professional club from Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...
.
He is also known for playing collegiate football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for Bucknell University
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg, 30 miles southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. The university consists of the College of...
and the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
from 1890 through 1893. During his playing career, Wyant was cited by his coach at Chicago, Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
, as “one of the best men that ever donned the canvas jacket” (which was then a part of the football uniform). Wyant also served at one time as principal of the Greensburg schools before becoming a U.S. Congressman.
Adam's brother, Andy
Andy Wyant
Andy R. E. Wyant was a college football player, best known for playing eight vasity seasons of college football, for an unprecedented total of 73 consecutive games, from 1887–1894. It should also be noted, that during this era of football, that teams dressed in poorly made equipment and...
, also played at Bucknell and Chicago, under Amos Alonzo Stagg. He was elected into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1962.
Biography
Adam Wyant was born near KittanningKittanning, Pennsylvania
Kittanning is a borough and the county seat of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is situated northeast of Pittsburgh, along the east bank of the Allegheny River. The name means "at the great stream" in the Delaware language...
, on his family's rural farm in the village of Montgomeryville
Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania
Montgomeryville is a census-designated place in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 12,624 at the 2010 census....
. He later attended the Mount Pleasant Institute, and Bucknell, located in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,620 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union...
. He attended Bucknell for three years, playing on pioneer football teams there with his brother Andy. Afterwards Andy, left Bucknell to attend the University of Chicago Divinity School
University of Chicago Divinity School
The University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries...
. Adam followed his brother to Chicago and played guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
for the legendary coach, Amos Alonzo Stagg. In 1895, Adam graduated from the University of Chicago and returned to western Pennsylvania to teach in Mt. Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania
Mount Pleasant is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It stands 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Population in 1900, 4,745 people; in 1910, 5,812 people; and in 1940, 5,824 people...
. He moved to Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg, Pennsylvania
Greensburg is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, and a part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The city is named after Nathanael Greene, a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War...
, in 1896.
In Greensburg, Wyant was widely known for his football skills and, at 6'0" and 196 pounds, he was considered a big person for that era. In the fall of 1895, was one of four college stars signed to play professionally with the Greensburg Athletic Association. His teammeates consisted of Lawson Fiscus
Lawson Fiscus
Ira Lawson Fiscus was one of the first professional football players. He attended Princeton University, where his outstanding play at offensive guard earned him the title Samson of Princeton, before going on to play professionally with the Allegheny Athletic Association in 1891 and the Greensburg...
and Charlie Atherton
Charlie Atherton
Charles Morgan Herbert Atherton is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. Nicknamed "Prexy", he batted and threw right-handed, was 5'10" tall and weighed 160 pounds. Atherton attended Penn State University. He was also an early professional football player for the Greensburg Athletic...
. Wyant played quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the team, a position that was not too different from guard in the style of play at the time. In 1896, while still playing pro football, he became the first principal of Greensburg High School
Greensburg-Salem School District
Greensburg-Salem School District is a public school district in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The City of Greensburg as well as South Greensburg Boro, Southwest Greensburg Boro, and Salem Township are within district boundaries.-Schools:...
and soon thereafter became the city's first superintendent of schools.
In the summer of 1897, Adam ended his football career and studied law at the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
where he studied law, and was admitted to the Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 369,993 people, 149,813 households, and 104,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 361 people per square mile . There were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile...
Bar in 1902. He then commenced the practice of law in Greensburg. He was interested in coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mining and other business enterprises. In 1910, Wyant married Katherine N. Doty, the daughter of a Westmoreland County judge.
In 1920 Wyant was elected as a Republican to the 67th United States Congress
67th United States Congress
The Sixty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1921 to March 4, 1923, during the first two years...
. He won the state's 22nd congressional district
Pennsylvania's 22nd congressional district
Pennsylvania's 22nd congressional district was one of Pennsylvania's districts of the United States House of Representatives.-Geography:...
with the largest majority ever given a Republican candidate in the district's history. He was then re-elected five more times. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1932. He resumed his former business pursuits and died in Greensburg, after succumbing to cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on January 5, 1935. He was interred in St. Clair Cemetery.