 Schreiner in his military uniform | |
| No. 80 | |
|---|---|
| Position | End |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | March 5, 1921 Lancaster, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Died: | June 21, 1945 (aged 24) Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands, Japanese Empire |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 198 lb (90 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| High school | Lancaster HS (Lancaster, WI) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| College Football Hall of Fame (1955) | |
David Nathan Schreiner (March 5, 1921 – June 21, 1945) was an American football player. From Lancaster in southwest Wisconsin, he was a two-time All-American and the 1942 Big Ten Most Valuable Player end at Wisconsin and a 1943 second round draft choice (11th overall) of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL).
Instead of playing in the NFL, he went to serve in the Marines during WWII. He was mortally wounded in action by a sniper on June 20, 1945, during the Battle of Okinawa and died the next day.[1] Coincidentally, fellow #11 overall NFL draft pick Tony Butkovich had also died from sniper fire at Okinawa several months earlier.
He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955. His life and death are detailed in the book Third Down and a War to Go, written by Terry Frei, the son of Jerry Frei, one of Schreiner's teammates on the 1942 Wisconsin Badgers football team.
- ^ "Gives Details on How Schreiner Was Killed on Okinawa". Monroe Evening Times. July 20, 1945. p. 1. Retrieved May 9, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
