John Frederick McLean (January 10, 1878 – June 4, 1955) was an All-American college football player, track and field athlete, and coach.

[2] He enrolled in the University of Michigan where he became a star athlete in American football, track and field, and baseball.

The Wolverines won the championship with a 12–11 victory over Chicago—a game that inspired Louis Elbel to write the University of Michigan's fight song, "The Victors."

[7] In November 1899, McLean led the Wolverines in a game against eastern football power, the University of Pennsylvania at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

The Wolverines lost the game 11–10, but McLean's play at left halfback drew praise in newspaper accounts carried across the country.

"[8] The New York Times reported that even the Penn fans showed their appreciation for McLean -- "his brilliant sprinting around Pennsylvania's ends often brought applause from the followers of the Quakers.

"[9] McLean's final game for Michigan was a November 1899 match against the University of Wisconsin played in front of 17,000 fans in Chicago.

[12][13] McLean competed for the United States in track and field events at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris.

However, the others "welched," and when McLean wrote to them requesting that they pay their share, they turned over the correspondence to the university's athletic director.