William Christian Schmeisser (August 4, 1880 – July 1, 1941), known widely as "Father Bill",[1] was an American lacrosse player, coach, and patron.

He served as the head coach of the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays for ten non-consecutive years, and won eight national championships.

[4] Schmeisser returned to Johns Hopkins for graduate study in the field of political economy, and played an additional year of lacrosse, in 1905.

Schmeisser took the position again from 1923 to 1925, and Johns Hopkins secured the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) championships in 1923 and 1924.

[6][7] Schmeisser helped organize and played on the Mount Washington Lacrosse Club,[2] a highly successful Baltimore-based amateur team.

[8] In 1904, Schmeisser and Abercrombie co-authored Lacrosse: From Candidate to Team,[9] a book which became the sport's standard text for the next fifty years.

[11] In 1928, Johns Hopkins won a postseason tournament to represent the United States in a lacrosse exhibition event during the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam,[12] and Schmeisser accompanied the team as an assistant coach.

[14] Schmeisser was a long-time official of the USILA, and he held positions that included member of the rules committee, chief referee, and president.