Ed Beisser

Who was Ed Beisser?

Edward J. "Ed" Beisser was an American standout basketball player for Creighton University in the early 1940s and was named a consensus NCAA First Team All-American as a senior in 1942–43. He was a three-time First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection and was later named one of the MVC's "50 Greatest Players" in the conference's history.

Beisser attended North High School in Des Moines, Iowa. He had been a first team all-state center and enrolled at Creighton in the fall of 1939. Since college freshmen were not allowed to play varsity sports back then, he had to wait until his sophomore year in 1940–41. In his three varsity seasons, Beisser was First Team All-MVC, won two outright conference championships and shared a co-MVC title with Oklahoma A&M in 1942, and capped his career with an All-American selection. In 1941, Creighton participated in the third-ever NCAA Tournament, but lost in the first round. In 1942 and 1943, Beisser led the Bluejays to National Invitation Tournament appearances. They won the Third Place Game in 1942 over Toledo, 48–46, but lost in the first round the following year to Washington & Jefferson, 43–42. Beisser was named to the All-Tournament Team in 1942.