Kiesling, Walter A.
Football
b. May 27, 1903, St. Paul, MN
d. March 2, 1962
After playing guard at little St. Thomas College in Minnesota, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Kiesling became a professional with the NFL's Duluth Eskimos in 1926. He remained with the Eskimos through 1927, played for the Pottsville Maroons in 1928, and then settled down with the Chicago Cardinals for five seasons. He was named to the 1932 All-Pro team.
After spending 1934 with the Chicago Bears, Kiesling played for the Green Bay Packers in 1935 and 1936. There he was reunited with a long-time friend, Johnny "Blood" McNally; they had been teammates in Duluth and Pottsville. When McNally went to Pittsburgh as player-coach in 1937, Kiesling went with him as assistant coach and part-time player, and he became head coach when McNally left in 1939, remaining through 1940.
Kiesling, who retired as a player after the 1938 season, had an unusual coaching career. He said he preferred being an assistant coach, his usual role, but he was pressed into service as a head coach three times. An assistant with Pittsburgh in 1941, he became head coach again for the last game of the season and took the team to a 7-4-0 record in 1942.
Because of the World War II manpower shortage, the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia teams merged in 1943, when Kiesling and "Greasy" Neale served as co-coaches. Pittsburgh and the Chicago Cardinals merged in 1944 and Kiesling was again a co-coach, with Phil Handler.
After serving as an assistant in Green Bay for four seasons, Kiesling returned to Pittsburgh as an assistant in 1949 and was made head coach once again just before the 1955 season started. He retired after the 1956 season because of poor health. His overall record was 30-55-5.