Date of birth December 10, 1880 Role American football player College None Height 1.83 m | 1909-1921 Columbus Panhandles Weight 102 kg Name Phil Nesser | |
Place of birth Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate, German Empire Date of death May 9, 1959(1959-05-09) (aged 78) Place of death Columbus, Ohio, United States Died May 1959, Columbus, Ohio, United States Positions Guard, Tackle, Running back | ||
Phillip Gregory Nesser (December 10, 1880 - May 9, 1959) was a professional American football player in the "Ohio League" and the early National Football League for the Columbus Panhandles. He was also a member of the Nesser Brothers, a group consisting of seven brothers who made-up the most famous football family in the United States from 1907 until the mid-1920s. He is distinguished as being the first German to play in the National Football League.
Phil was primarily a tackle, although he often carried the ball on several plays.
Outside of football, Phil was considered a math genius although he never attended school past the fourth grade. According to his daughter, Phil later taught at Central High School in Columbus until the school's administrators found out he did not have a degree and forced him to resign. In addition to football, he was a champion hammer thrower.