MAY 25, 1937

ONEIDA ALL AMERICAN FOOTBALL PLAYER MARTIN WHEELOCK DIED

Born in Oneida, Wisconsin (WI), June 5, 1874. Martin went to Carlisle Indian School in 1890. He played on its football team from 1894-1902 and was its Captain in 1899 & 1901. The 1899 team beat previously unbeaten & unscored-upon University of California 2-0 in San Francisco on Christmas Day for the “East-West Championship.” An interior lineman, Wheelock was also Carlisle’s leading kicker. Graduating in 1902, he played a season at Haskell Institute in Kansas, then returned to Oneida, married, raised a family, and worked as a farmer & blacksmith. Martin also played a year for the Green Bay football team (pre-Packers). Honors: 2^nd Team All-American (1901); All-University Team, Philadelphia Inquirer (1902); Glenn “Pop” Warner’s all-time Carlisle left guard; membership in the American Indian Athletic (2001) & North American Indigenous Athletics (2022) Halls of Fame; and, with other Oneida players, represented on a Walk of Legends statue at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field. Wheelock died in Belle Plain, WI.

Sources:

“Martin Wheelock,” North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame.  Retrieved 2/4/2023, Martin Wheelock | NAIAHF

Wikipedia

Photo:  Carlisle Indian School, 1899.  Likely Public Domain, alternatively Fair Use. Source: Images | Carlisle Indian School | CCHS (historicalsociety.com)