Fresno State legend Dale Messer, the first Bulldog to have number retired, passes away

Dale Messer, the first Fresno State football player to have his jersey number retired by the university, passed away. He was 86.

Messer, who was a football and track and field star at Lemoore High, College of the Sequoias and Fresno State and was drafted by and played five seasons for the San Francisco 49ers, racked up a trove of numbers in his career.

He set a number of school single-season and career records, led the Bulldogs in rushing three seasons in a row and still is tied for the fourth longest rushing play in school history — a 90-yard burst against Hawaii during his senior season in 1960.

But the number that stood out most was the one Messer donned on the back of his Fresno State jersey — No. 21.

“At the end, he had the number, a big, red 21, that he could see at all times,” said Julie Brown, Messer’s daughter. “He could point to it. That was a huge honor to him.

“My son, his middle name is Dale, and he got a tattoo of 21, his first tattoo. It’s just a big deal in our family. My dad was really proud of it. The Bulldogs are his heart. The 49ers were great, but he was a Bulldog.”

Messer, who died on Tuesday, is survived by his wife, Shirley; a daughter and a son, Julie Messer Brown and Steven Messer; and grandchildren, Matthew Dale Brown, Andrew Brown and Brooke Messer. Messer’s first wife, Ann, passed away in 2006. “His grandkids were his pride and joy,” Brown said.

A family service will be held this summer. In lieu of flowers, the family said donations can be made to Fresno State football through the Bulldog Foundation.

In the years after he moved on from Fresno State, the two-time All-America Messer became the comparison for smaller, but extremely fast and productive running backs.

Coach Cecil Coleman, in a 1961 season preview said of Messer: “You don’t come up with such a player every year. He could do so many things real good.”

Messer was the first football player to win the Harry Coffee Bulldog athlete of year award, the first Fresno State player to be selected to the United Press International All-Coast team and the second Fresno State player to play in the East-West Shrine Game, as well as the first football player to have his number retired.

The Fresno State College board of athletic control voted to retire Messer’s No. 21 in 1961, while he was serving in the U.S. Army and stationed at Fort Ord prior to reporting to training camp with the 49ers.

Fresno State since has retired the No. 4 in honor of quarterback Derek Carr, No. 8 for quarterback David Carr, No. 9 for quarterback Kevin Sweeney, No. 12 for quarterback Trent Dilfer, No. 14 for kicker Vince Petrucci, No. 15 for wideout Davante Adams, No. 22 for running back Lorenzo Neal and No. 83 for wideout Henry Ellard.

Messer’s No. 21 became a talk around Fresno State camp in 2009 when he agreed to unretire his jersey number so then-star running back Ryan Mathews could wear the same lucky number. Mathews would go on to lead college football in rushing with an average of 150.67 yards per game.

“It is a sad day to lose such a great Bulldog and a great representative of the Fresno State football program,” coach Jeff Tedford said in a statement from the athletics department. “Dale embodied everything that is Fresno State Football, and his accomplishments and legacy will be remembered in our program forever.”

Messer was inducted into the Fresno County Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, and also had the No. 12 he wore at Lemoore High retired in 2007.