Macalester College Athletics

A letterman in swimming, track and tennis, John Snyder was a mainstay on some outstanding Macalester athletic teams. Snyder was an excellent diver on swimming and diving teams that won three conference championships and finished second once. He won the state diving title as a sophomore and junior and placed third as a senior.

We was also one of the most successful pole vaulters Macalester has ever had, winning three state championships after placing second as a freshman. His first place finishes helped the Scots win the conference three times. Very rarely did Snyder ever lose a pole vault competition in his four years at Mac. Snyder was also a standout high jumper, battling teammate and classmate (and fellow Hall of Famer) Bill Morris for first place in nearly every meet.

In addition to competing in the spring as a successful high jumper and pole vaulter, Snyder also competed on the tennis team in two seasons, winning a majority of his doubles matches and once making it to the state semi-finals.

Snyder was employed with the Weyerhaeuser and Talbot lumber companies, and worked his last eight years before retirement for the Navaho Indians in the forest industry. He was a member of the Northbend, Oregon, Chamber of Commerce. He died in August, proud of his selection to the Hall of Fame.