INDUCTED 1957

Christian Steinmetz stood only 5-9 and weighed 137 pounds, but many call him the "Father of Wisconsin Basketball." Steinmetz became the first Badger to score 1,000 points in his career, 1902-1905. He has games of 50 and 45 points in an era when teams barely scored that many points.
In fact, in the 1904-05 season, Steinmetz scored 462 points, an average of 25.9 points per game. His total was 23 points more than all the Badgers' opponents scored as teams in that season. The Badgers went undefeated that season until losing to Columbia for the national championship.
Steinmetz was UW's first All American. Before attending UW, Steinmetz led South Division to the state prep basketball title in 1902. After retiring from basketball, Steinmetz practiced law and became a judge.