You could certainly say Tom Wiesner “hit the jackpot,” but it wasn’t without plenty of hard work.
Whether it was in athletics, business or politics, Wiesner was well-known as someone who could get things done and usually with perfection.
Wiesner was born in Wausau in 1939 and moved with his parents and six brothers to Neenah in 1944. He was a three-sport athlete at Neenah in football, basketball and baseball and led the 1956 Rockets’ football team to an undefeated record as the team’s Most Valuable Player.
He landed a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and captained the Badgers’ 1960 Rose Bowl squad, scoring the team’s only touchdown in a 44-8 loss to the University of Washington. In 1961, he played in the Hula Bowl and East-West Shrine All-Star games.
Wiesner worked for Holmes Tire Company in Madison and started his own franchise in Las Vegas in 1963. He sold the company in 1971 and later that year was the youngest person ever elected to the Clark County Commission, serving for six years. He was the director of the Chamber of Commerce and
created seven Wisconsin-themed restaurants and casinos.
Well-known as “Big Dog,” he was a member of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Board and worked with the Boys and Girls Club, United Way, American Cancer Society and Easter Seals.
A friend of President Ronald Reagan, Wiesner was elected Nevada’s Republican National Committeeman in 1986 and served for nearly two decades.
Wiesner served on the University of Nevada Board of Regents from 1996-2002. He was active with
University of Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV) athletics and has a street, “Wiesner Way,” named after him outside the school’s football stadium. He was inducted in the UW-Madison, UNLV and Southern Nevada Sports Halls of Fame.
Wiesner died from leukemia in 2002. The UNLV football team annually awards a patch in his name to a senior who displays his courage and toughness, while the Wisconsin football team gives an award in his name to a Wisconsin-born senior with loyalty, hard work, spirit and dedication to the team.
In 1965, Wiesner married his wife, Lynn, who survives him and still lives in Las Vegas. They have a daughter, Kari Lynn, and a son, Kurt.
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