Clint Wager
Encyclopedia
Clinton Belmar Wager was a professional football
and basketball
player. He played in the National Football League
from 1942-1945 for the Chicago Bears
, Chicago Cardinals and the Cardinals-Pittsburgh Steelers
merged team, "Card-Pitt
". However he also played in the National Basketball Association
in 1949-50 for the Fort Wayne Pistons (now called the Detroit Pistons
). He also played in the National Basketball League
for the Oshkosh All-Stars
and Hammond Calumet Buccaneers, while finishing his career with the Louisville Alumnites
of the National Professional Basketball League.
. During his college career, he was an all-conference center and an individual scoring champion twice, in 1939 and 1940. He also participated in the 1941 National Invitational Tournament. He was also selected in his senior year as captain of the school's basketball team. He also played football for the school. He was elected in the schools sports hall of fame in 1977.
, Wager managed to kick himself in the head resulting in a fractured skull. The incident knocked him out of competition with Card-Pitt for over a month.
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...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player. He played in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
from 1942-1945 for the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Chicago Cardinals and the Cardinals-Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
merged team, "Card-Pitt
Card-Pitt
Card-Pitt was the name for the team created by the temporary merger of two National Football League teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals, during the 1944 season. The teams were forced to merge, because both had lost many players to World War II military service...
". However he also played in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
in 1949-50 for the Fort Wayne Pistons (now called the Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
). He also played in the National Basketball League
National Basketball League (United States)
Founded in 1937, the National Basketball League, often abbreviated to NBL, was a professional men's basketball league in the United States. The league would later merge with the Basketball Association of America to form the National Basketball Association in 1949.- League history :The...
for the Oshkosh All-Stars
Oshkosh All-Stars
The Oshkosh All-Stars were a professional basketball team based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. From 1937 to 1948 they played in the National Basketball League, a forerunner to the NBA. The team appeared in the NBL finals five consecutive years , winning twice...
and Hammond Calumet Buccaneers, while finishing his career with the Louisville Alumnites
Louisville Alumnites
Louisville Alumnites were a team in the National Professional Basketball League , based in Louisville, Kentucky.The Alumnites competed in the Eastern Division of the NPBL. They compiled a record of 18 wins and 17 losses , and finished in second place in the Eastern Division behind the Sheboygan...
of the National Professional Basketball League.
College career
Prior to his professional career, Wager played basketball for Saint Mary's UniversitySaint Mary's University of Minnesota
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota is a private, comprehensive, coeducational university with an undergraduate campus in the city of Winona, Minnesota, United States...
. During his college career, he was an all-conference center and an individual scoring champion twice, in 1939 and 1940. He also participated in the 1941 National Invitational Tournament. He was also selected in his senior year as captain of the school's basketball team. He also played football for the school. He was elected in the schools sports hall of fame in 1977.
Punting accident
In 1944, while practicing puntingPunt (football)
In some codes of football, a punt is a play in which a player drops the ball and kicks it before it touches the ground. A punt is in contrast to a drop kick, in which the ball touches the ground before being kicked....
, Wager managed to kick himself in the head resulting in a fractured skull. The incident knocked him out of competition with Card-Pitt for over a month.