Louis Weller

Louis "Rabbit" Weller (March 2, 1904 – April 17, 1979) was a professional football halfback with the Boston Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) in 1933. He was a Native American member of the Caddo tribe. He attended Haskell Institute. In 1972, Weller was a charter inductee into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.[1]

For the English footballer, see Louis Weller (footballer).
Louis Weller
Position:Halfback
Personal information
Born:(1904-03-02)March 2, 1904
Anadarko, Oklahoma
Died:April 17, 1979(1979-04-17) (aged 75)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Career information
High school:Chilocco Indian (OK)
Arkansas City (KS)
College:Arkansas City JC
Haskell Institute
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame (1972)
  • Kansas Sports Hall of Fame (1977)
  • Cowley College Hall of Fame (2001)
Career NFL statistics
Games played:7
Touchdowns:2
Player stats at NFL.com
Player stats at PFR

Early life

Weller was born in Anadarko, Oklahoma. He was a multi-sport athlete at Arkansas City High School in Arkansas City, Kansas[2] and then played football for Arkansas City Junior College from 1925 to 1926.[3] During those two seasons, Weller scored 190 total points, which included 28 touchdowns.[4] In 1927, he attended Chilocco Indian School, where he once returned seven punts for touchdowns in one game.[4][5] After attending Chilocco, Weller was a four-sport athlete at the Haskell Institute. He was the first three-time captain of the Haskell football team, where he scored thirteen touchdowns of 60 yards or more.[5] In 1930, he was selected to the Knute Rockne All-American team and the United Press second team. One of Weller's most notable performances was in 1930 against the undefeated Oklahoma A&M Cowboys. In that game, he returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown and later returned a punt 95 yards for the winning touchdown in a 13-12 victory.[5] In a 1930 charity football game, Weller played for both teams, Arkansas City Junior College during the first half and Chilocco Indian school during the second half.[6]

Other sports

Besides football, Weller excelled at other sports, including track[7] and baseball. James Naismith, who invented the sport of basketball in 1891, called Weller "the most expert dribbler I have ever seen."[8][9]

Professional career

After college, Weller played two years of professional football. In 1933, he played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Boston Redskins under his former coach at Haskell, William Henry "Lone Star" Dietz, as well as with two other American Indian football players, "Chief" Larry Johnson and John Orien Crow.[10] In 1934, he played in the American Football League for the Tulsa Oilers.[11]

Personal life

After retiring from football, Weller worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He died on April 17, 1979 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, following a heart attack he sustained while playing golf with former teammate and former Commissioner of the Bureau of Indian Affairs John Orien Crow.[9]

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References
  1. "Louis "Rabbit" Weller - 1972 - Football - Caddo". American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  2. "History – Amos Curry". Cowley Community College. Retrieved 2015-07-29.
  3. "Louis "Rabbit" Weller Class of 1926". Cowley Community College. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  4. King, C. Richard (2004). Native Americans in Sports, pg. 320, M. E. Sharpe. ISBN 0-7656-8054-8.
  5. "Weller, Louis "Rabbit"". Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  6. "Haskell Star to Play Both For and Against". The Evening Independent. Google News Archives. December 3, 1930. p. 9. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  7. "First Night Meet To Be At Haskell". Lawrence Journal-World. Google News Archives. April 28, 1930. p. 6. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  8. Naismith, James (1941). Basketball: Its Origin and Development, pg. 139, Association Press. ISBN 0-8032-8370-9.
  9. "Deaths – Louis Weller". Lawrence Journal-World. Google News Archives. April 18, 1979. p. 3. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  10. Leiby, Richard (November 6, 1994). "How the Redskins Got Their Name, and Why Just Maybe It Should Be Changed". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
  11. "1934 Tulsa Oilers". The Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 2015-08-03.
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