John Schneller

John Schneller (November 1, 1911 – November 6, 1978) was a National Football League (NFL) player for the Portsmouth Spartans/Detroit Lions from 1933 to 1936, playing end on offense and defense.

John Benjamin Schneller was born on November 1, 1911 in Neenah, Wisconsin. He went to the University of Wisconsin on a basketball scholarship, but was recruited upon arriving on campus to play football. He then played football exclusively at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a fullback and end, earning Honorable Mention All-American honors in his junior year.

In 1935, he and the Detroit Lions won their first NFL championship, beating the New York Giants 26-7.

He graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in electrical engineering after his NFL playing career was completed.

He later enlisted in the Navy. He was assigned to Washington, D.C. to learn top-secret codes, and served as a lieutenant, commanding the radar tower, on the USS South Dakota during World War II in the Pacific.

After the war, Schneller scouted for NFL teams. He worked for Owens-Corning Fiberglas as a sales manager. In 1947, he founded the Duracote Company in Ravenna, Ohio, and in 1964 founded John Schneller & Associates, in Kent, Ohio, which later became known as Schneller, Inc., which today is the largest supplier of commercial aircraft interior decorative laminates in the world.

Schneller lost his battle with cancer on November 6, 1978.