Steve Schmidt Collection
1938-1992
MF 38

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Schmidt, Steve
Title: Steve Schmidt Collection
Dates: 1938-1992
Abstract: The collection contains items that document Steve Schmidt’s athletic career.
Quantity: 0.5 linear feet
Processed By: La’ Quisha Chaffin

Administrative History

Steve Schmidt was an active athlete, playing baseball, basketball, and football in his youth. He settled on football, and even received several scholarship offers to many colleges. However, he suffered a stroke and all scholarship proposals were revoked. After overcoming his parents’ deaths, being placed in an orphanage, and having brain surgery early in his life, Steve Schmidt decided to hitchhike to Atlanta, Georgia, and attend Oglethorpe University; the university offered him a football scholarship. He joined the team and started as a quarterback for the Stormy Petrels. Upon graduation and marriage to his wife, Jeanne Fuller Schmidt, he went to flight training school and became a professional pilot and bomber during World War II. Although not given credit for it, he dropped the last bomb of the entire war and made the flight back home. After surviving the war, he took over as CEO at Dixie Seal and Stamp Company and co-founded the Atlanta Tipoff Club and the Braves’ 400 Club. He began serving on the Board of Trustees at Oglethorpe University in 1963, and earned the name “Mr. Oglethorpe” for his participation in and donations to the university. He was also the President of the National Alumni Association, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and an inductee into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1992. In addition to these achievements, Oglethorpe University’s Stephen J. Schmidt Sport and Recreation Center was named in his honor. Approximately a year after his death in 2005, Governor Perdue renamed the road in front of Oglethorpe University “Stephen J. Schmidt Sr. Memorial Highway” in honor of Steve Schmidt’s abundant contributions and good spirit.

Description

The collection contains a football scrapbook created and kept by Steve Schmidt himself. It involves handwritten plays and pulled newspaper clippings. In addition, a poster of the Sports Hall of Fame is included.

Restrictions

None.

Subject Headings

Schmidt, Steve, 1938-1992

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation:
Please cite Steve Schmidt Collection, MF 38, Archives, Philip Weltner Library, Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Georgia. Permission to publish from this collection must be approved in writing by the Director of the Library, Oglethorpe University.