ERNEST J. SCHMIDT
1911-1986
Inducted – 2002

Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Ernest John Schmidt was nicknamed “One-Grand” because he scored exactly 1,000 points at the Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg and was named to the AAU All-American team in 1932. Schmidt helped lead the Gorillas to a 47-game winning streak, which remained the longest in college basketball until the San Francisco Dons of Bill Russell and K.C. Jones broke the mark in 1956. Schmidt was a four-time all-conference selection at Pittsburg, led the conference in scoring three times and was considered one of the nation’s greatest college players of his era. Prior to his college days, he led Winfield High School to three consecutive state titles and was a consensus all-state selection in 1927, 1928 and 1929. He played AAU basketball from 1932-36 in Reno and Denver. Schmidt was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1974 and the Pittsburg State Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. Born February 12, 1911 – Nashville, Kansas. Died September 6, 1986 – Nashville, Kansas. Graduated Winfield High School, 1929; Kansas State Teachers College of Pittsburg, 1933.