Wear Schoonover - Athletics - Arkansas Razorbacks

Wear Schoonover

Football

Wear K. Schoonover was the first official All-America football player in the Southwest Conference as well as the first Arkansas athlete to be elected to the National Football Foundation’s Hall of Fame. He was the University of Arkansas’ first football All-American. A native of Pocahontas, Schoonover won 10 varsity letters at Arkansas in football, basketball, track, and baseball. He was a two-time All-SWC basketball selection and was selected to the Collier’s All-America football team in 1929 as an end. Schoonover was also a top scholar with a 3.85 grade point average and was the University’s nominee for Rhodes Scholarship that year. Schoonover began his varsity career at Fayetteville under the colorful Coach Francis A. Schmidt in 1927, and immediately produced physical and mental credentials that simply could not be ignored. In 1929, Schoonover did not miss a minute during a nine-game schedule and won All-America laurels. He caught seven touchdown passes and scored 42 points as the Razorbacks raced to a 7-2 record. In losing to Baylor, 31-20, Schoonover caught 14 of 17 passes thrown in his direction. That same season, in Arkansas’ 14-13 triumph over Texas A&M, Schoonover intercepted a school record five passes, made a pair of catches to set up the Razorback TDs, then blocked the extra point to preserve the victory. Against Centenary, he returned an interception 96 yards for a touchdown. Schoonover was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1959. He was selected as part of the second class of the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor in 1989 and was named to the University’s 100 Year Team in 1994. Schoonover was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame in 1967, becoming the first Razorback player to be enshrined.