Hall of Fame
John "Jersey" Jermier, Class of 1959, has distinguished himself as a superior athlete; an active Coe student; a coach of outstanding football and baseball teams, for which he has gained national recognition; an athletic administrator; and, most notably, a sincere friend to all who have known him. Among his accomplishments as an athlete at Coe were four years of football, two years of baseball, and two years of track. He was selected as one of the co-captains in his senior year for a football team that won the conference championship. "Jersey's" outstanding play was recognized by the opposition as he was selected as a member of the All-Conference team. **** Not many athletes have had the versatility to play effectively in both the backfield and the line. Jersey was a fullback his sophomore year and then became a cornerstone at right guard during his last two years of play. In the 1958 conference baseball championship game, "John Jermier blasted a 'blue-darter' over the left centerfield screen to tie the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth," wrote the Coe Cosmos. Coe won that championship 3-2 over Carleton. During the season "Jersey" had a hefty .350 batting average. After two years as an assistant coach at Coe, "Jersey" became the head football coach at Wayne State. Through his leadership, Wayne State realized many of its finest years in athletics, and he was honored on five occasions as NAIA District II Coach of the Year twice in football and three times in baseball. After Wayne State, "Jersey" was on the coaching staff at Colorado State and the University of Iowa. He was Iowa's assistant athletic director and was the athletic director at Kansas State. Coe College is pleased to honor John "Jersey" Jermier as an Athletic Hall of Fame recipient.
