By DENNIS GLADE South Bend Tribune Staff Writer
5:28 a.m. EDT, July 13, 2011
SOUTH BEND -- Chet Moeller was never the biggest, strongest or fastest player on the field, but he made sure he was the smartest and the hardest working.
This weekend, all that hard work will honored when Moeller is enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Moeller, 57, played safety for the U.S. Naval Academy from 1973-75. He recorded 275 tackles in his Navy career. He is the 22nd player or coach from Navy to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Moeller's first experiences of playing football were in his hometown of Kettering, Ohio, just outside of Dayton.
While many players his age were weighing their college options, Moeller wasn't sure about his choice until he visited the Naval Academy prior to his 1972 graduation from Fairmont High School.
"It was a very clean, disciplined environment, I liked the area and the education and on top of that I would get to serve my country," Moeller said.
After his graduation from the Naval Academy, Moeller served five years in the Marines.
Despite his great career at Navy, Moeller was still surprised and humbled when he received the news of his induction.
"When I got my football delivered by FedEx, I broke down in tears," Moeller said. "It's a reward for the game that I love and have been involved in much of my life and that was really gratifying."
While Moeller will likely be remembered for his excellence on the football field by some, he also has a very strong faith.
In 1975, Moeller began his involvement with Fellowship of Christian Athletes and he has continued that commitment to his religion to this day.
"I am still heavily involved in church; I speak to high school and college groups,” Moeller said. “It’s still a huge part of my life and it always will be.”
Initially Moeller was just honored to have been on the ballot and to even have the opportunity to be looked at with all the other great college football players represented at the Hall of Fame.
“It’s the highest honor a college athlete can have,” Moeller said. “When I got on the ballot that was enough excitement, we heard it would take us forever to be considered and to get in.”
With all that he has achieved in his life, Moeller would be the first to tell anyone that he has had plenty of help along the way and one of the biggest influences on his life has been coach Dick Hoppe. Hoppe coached Moeller as a high schooler at Fairmont High in the early ’70s.
One of the things Hoppe remembers most about Moeller is how hard he worked every day to overcome what many would call an average body to become an excellent football player.
“He had good speed,” Hoppe said, “but he was so smart and so instinctive. When he went to the Naval Academy, he revolutionized the strong safety position by running east and west instead of the traditional north and south.”
As a man who has coached for so many years, to have a player achieve what he has in his lifetime is the ultimate gift.
“He is without a doubt the most honored player that I have ever coached,” Hoppe said. “This honor to me to have coached a kid, I’ve had quite a few kids that played at Division I schools, but he is without a doubt head and shoulders above anyone that I have ever had the opportunity to coach.”
Staff writer Dennis Glade:
[email protected]
http://www.southbendtribune.com/sports/sbt-20110713sbtmichc-01-05-20110713,0,4928699.story
Sounds like the Alter recruting program messed up on this one....
I'd love to know how many Ohioans are in the college hall of fame. I'll bet it's disproportionately high.