John Witte

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (1933–1993)}}

{{Infobox CFL biography

|name=John Witte

|image=

|status=

|import=Yes

|position1=Tackle

|birth_date={{birth date|1933|1|29}}

|birth_place=

|death_date={{death date and age|1993|3|17|1933|1|29}}

|death_place= Portland, Oregon, U.S.

|number=65{{cite web | url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/players/w/witt00700.html | title=JOHN WITTE | publisher=Pro Football Archives | accessdate=18 May 2025}}

|college=Oregon State

|high_school=Klamath Falls (OR) Union

|height_ft=6

|height_in=3

|weight_lbs=235

|NFLDraftedYear=1955

|NFLDraftedRound=9

|NFLDraftedPick=103

|NFLDraftedTeam=Los Angeles Rams

|playing_years1={{CFL Year|1957}}

|playing_team1=Saskatchewan Roughriders

|career_highlights=

Consensus All-American (1956)
First-team All-American (1955)
2× First-team All-PCC (1955, 1956)

}}

{{MedalCountry | }} the Oregon State Beavers

John August Witte (January 29, 1933 – March 17, 1993) was an American professional football tackle who played one season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU). He was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the ninth round of the 1955 NFL draft.

Early life

Witte played college football at Oregon State University and attended Klamath Union High School in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He was a consensus All-American in 1956.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IZZAR0gioZYC&q=john+witte+oregon+state&pg=PA48 | title=Oregon State Football | publisher=Arcadia Publishing | author=Carlson, Kip | year=2006 | pages=48| isbn=9780738531373 }}{{cite web | url=http://www.lostlettermen.com/player/profile/john-witte | title=John Witte | publisher=lostlettermen.com | accessdate=17 August 2014 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://archive.today/20140818010420/http://www.lostlettermen.com/player/profile/john-witte | archivedate=18 August 2014 }} Witte was also a wrestler at Oregon State and finished second at

the NCAA Championships as a freshman.{{cite web | url=http://www.osubeavers.com/fls/30800/old_site/pdf/m-footbl/2012-13/misc_non_event/all-americans.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=30800 | title=JOHN WITTE • 1955 & 1956 | publisher=osubeavers.com | accessdate=17 August 2014 | archive-date=19 August 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819090740/http://www.osubeavers.com/fls/30800/old_site/pdf/m-footbl/2012-13/misc_non_event/all-americans.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=30800 | url-status=dead }} He served in the United States Army during the Korean War and became a corporal.

Professional career

Witte was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the ninth round, with the 103rd overall pick, of the 1955 NFL draft.{{cite web | url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1955/draft.htm | title=1955 NFL Draft | publisher=Sports Reference LLC | work=pro-football-reference.com | accessdate=17 August 2014}} He played in 13 games for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Western Interprovincial Football Union in 1957.

After football

After his football career, Witte had a brief career as a professional wrestler before moving into a career in education.{{cite news|title=Ex-OSU All-American Witte dies of leukemia at age 60|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=March 18, 1993|page=D5}}{{cite web | url=https://www.cagematch.net/en/?id=2&nr=15839&page=4 | title=John Witte | publisher=Cagematch.net | accessdate=18 May 2025}} He taught high school and coached football, including 24 years at Jefferson High School, where he served 17 years as dean of students. He died of leukemia in Portland in 1993. He was inducted to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Oregon State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991.{{cite web | url=http://www.oregonsportshall.org/john_witte.html | title=John Witte – Football | publisher=oregonsportshall.org | accessdate=17 August 2014 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819125539/http://www.oregonsportshall.org/john_witte.html | archivedate=19 August 2014 }}