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Lester Belding
Lester Cort Belding (December 5, 1900 – May 27, 1965) was an American athlete and coach in football, basketball, and track and field.[1] He was the first football player from the University of Iowa to be named a consensus All-American. He was inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 1963. Early yearsA native of Mason City, Iowa, Belding was a star football player for Mason City High School from 1914 to 1917.[2] University of IowaFootballBelding enrolled at the University of Iowa where he played football for legendary coach Howard Jones. He was a consensus Football All-American at the end position in 1919,[3] the first player from the University of Iowa to receive the honor.[4] Considered "one of the nation's premier collegiate pass catchers of his era,"[4][5] he played on the undefeated 1921 national championship team that outscored opponents 123–15 and included Gordon Locke, Aubrey Devine, Glenn Devine, and Duke Slater. He was also a three-time first-team All-Big Ten Conference selection.[5] TrackBelding was also the captain of Iowa's track team in 1921, competing in the 100 and 220-yard dashes.[2][5] Coach and athletic directorAfter graduating from Iowa in 1922, Belding became a coach. He coached at a prep school in Boulder, Colorado.[6] In 1923, Belding accepted a coaching position in Clinton, Iowa,[6] where he coached two state championship football teams.[2] He next accepted a position at the freshman coach at the University of North Carolina. He later served as the high school coach at Greensboro, North Carolina for seven years.[2] In 1933, Belding returned to Iowa where he was put in charge of high school athletics at Reinbeck, Iowa.[2][7] From 1934 to 1945, he was the athletic director and head football and basketball coach at Dakota Wesleyan College in Mitchell, South Dakota.[2][8][9] He finished his career serving 20 years, from 1945 to 1965, as a track and football coach and athletic director at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois.[1][9] in 1963, Belding was inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.[10] Belding died of a heart attack in 1965 at age 64.[1] He was posthumously inducted into the University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991. Head coaching recordCollege football
College basketball
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