Beloit College

Art Wheeler was an outstanding four-sport performer who earned a dozen letters and won major honors while competing both for and against Beloit.  A resident of Appleton, he opposed the Gold as a freshman and sophomore while attending arch state rival Lawrence College.  There he participated in football, basketball, track and baseball, received all-conference recognition as a basketball center, and became state record holder in the javelin throw.  Wheeler dropped out of school for a year, then joined legendary Coach Tommy Mills at Beloit in time to share the joys of championships won on the gridiron, hardcourt and track during the College’s “second golden ago of athletics.”  He was an all-league center on the 1923 football team, which posted a 6-1-1 mark; played an integral role on basketball squads which finished 13-2 and 14-0 in successive seasons; and left the mound to become a reliable catcher on the 1923 baseball team, which faced such strong foes as Notre Dame and the Michigan Aggies.  After coaching three sports at Elgin Junior College and Academy for two years, he worked out of Los Angeles as a manufacturer’s representative until his retirement in 1979.