John Martin Vesser (October 1, 1900 – March 20, 1996) was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator.[1] He served as the head football coach at Idaho State University for nine seasons, from 1941 to 1951.
Following his playing career, Vesser became a coach, first at the high school level, then joined the Idaho Southern Branch Bengals football team as an assistant coach in 1937. In 1941, Vesser succeeded Guy Wicks as head coach;[5] the school was renamed as Idaho State College in 1947. Vesser spent 11 years as head coach, during which the team competed in nine football seasons, as no teams were fielded in 1943 or 1945 due to World War II, compiling an overall record of 41–27–6 (.595).
Vesser also served as head coach of the Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team for several seasons, and was athletic director at the college from 1952 to 1965. He was inducted to the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974,[6] and the athletics hall of fame at Idaho State in 1979.[7] Vesser died in 1996 in Pocatello, Idaho.[2]
