Wesler, Lyle, 1905-1991
Biography Note
Lyle Welser was born on July 31, 1905 in Kane, Pennsylvania. He spent most of his life advancing the sport of gymnastics on every level. Lyle invented an automatic electrical timer for use in track races known as the Welser Sports Timer. Lyle suffered from Parkinson’s disease and passed away from pneumonia at the age of 86 on August 27th, 1991.
Lyle Welser graduated from Springfield College in 1933. While there, he was a co-captain of the varsity gymnastics team for two years as well as a national tumbling champion and a tutor of gymnastics, specializing in tumbling and apparatus. While there, Lyle took at least one of the classes taught by Ted Shawn and was one of the seven Springfield College students who performed at the Repertory Theatre in Boston performances held during the week of March 20, 1933, which were some of the first performances where Shawn presented His Men Dancers. Welser participated in the Tuesday Evening Performance, performing “Osage-Pawnee Dance of Greeting” and “Calvary.”
After graduation, he directed a health club at the Bridgeport Connecticut YMCA, teaching gymnastics and paddleball. Lyle founded Georgia Tech University’s gymnastics program and headed it from 1946 to 1970. He organized the South’s first gymnastics exhibition, first gymnastics team, and the country’s first national gymnastics clinic in 1950 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Welser was a member of the United States Olympic Committee and president of the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastic Coaches. He is a member of the Helms Athletic Hall of Fame, Georgia Tech University Hall of Fame, and Springfield College Hall of Fame.
Written and Researched by Shelby Redman, February 11, 2015
Resources used:
The Lyle Welser Student Folder: The United States Patent, no.1,993,949, Welser Sports Timer documentation, and Obituary - undated and unknown newspaper, titled: “Mr. Lyle Welser, 86, gymnastics pioneer, former tech coach”
The 1933 Massasoit Yearbook