| John Vesser | |
| Birth Date: | 1 October 1900 |
| Birth Place: | Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Pocatello, Idaho, U.S. |
| Player Sport1: | Football |
| Player Years2: | 1922–1925 |
| Player Team2: | Idaho |
| Player Years3: | 1926 |
| Player Team3: | Los Angeles Wildcats |
| Player Years4: | 1927 |
| Player Team4: | Chicago Cardinals |
| Player Years5: | 1930–1931 |
| Player Team5: | Chicago Cardinals |
| Player Positions: | End |
| Coach Sport1: | Football |
| Coach Years2: | 1934–1936 |
| Coach Team2: | Lewiston HS (ID) |
| Coach Years3: | 1937–1940 |
| Coach Team3: | Idaho Southern Branch (assistant) |
| Coach Years4: | 1941–1951 |
| Coach Team4: | Idaho Southern Branch / Idaho State |
| Coach Sport5: | Basketball |
| Coach Years6: | 1944–1946 |
| Coach Team6: | Idaho Southern Branch / Idaho State |
| Coach Years7: | 1947–1948 |
| Coach Team7: | Idaho State |
| Admin Years1: | 1952–1965 |
| Admin Team1: | Idaho State |
| Overall Record: | 41–27–6 (college football) |
| Awards: | |
John Martin Vesser (October 1, 1900 – March 20, 1996) was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator.[1] He served as the head football coach at Idaho State University for nine seasons, from 1941 to 1951.
Vesser was born in 1900 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. He played college football for Idaho, and was on the West squad for the inaugural East–West Shrine Game in December 1925.[2] [3] Vesser then played professionally for the Los Angeles Wildcats and the Chicago Cardinals.
Following his playing career, Vesser became a coach, first at the high school level, then joined the Idaho Southern Branch Bengals football team as an assistant coach in 1937. In 1941, Vesser succeeded Guy Wicks as head coach;[4] the school was renamed as Idaho State College in 1947. Vesser spent 11 years as head coach, during which the team competed in nine football seasons, as no teams were fielded in 1943 or 1945 due to World War II, compiling an overall record of .
Vesser also served as head coach of the Idaho State Bengals men's basketball team for several seasons, and was athletic director at the college from 1952 to 1965. He was inducted to the North Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 1974,[5] and the athletics hall of fame at Idaho State in 1979.[6] Vesser died in 1996 in Pocatello, Idaho.[7]