The Cal Beta Chapter of Chapter of
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Berkeley, California
Alan Schmeiser '53 graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1956. Now retired after many years as a self-employed rancher, Alan is a remarkable athlete who has played a key role in preserving the history of Dixon, California.
Alan is a proud member of the Dixon Historical Society board, and has contributed to chronicling the city’s vibrant past through oral accounts of his own memories and personal experiences growing up there. He is also a member of the City of Dixon Recreation Department, the Dixon High School Hall of Fame board, and was even inducted into the Hall of Fame himself. Additionally, Alan served on the 6th Army Honor Guard at the Presidio.
In addition to his career and historical expertise, Alan has proven his athleticism in multiple areas. He played rugby for four years at Cal (as well as football for three– Pappy’s Boys), and continued with the sport for a decade afterwards in the club setting. During these years he played on three All Star teams and competed in his last rugby match when he was 40-years-old as a member of the Bald Eagles– the national team for athletes over the age of 40. Alan also competed in triathlons for thirty years, totaling 297 races. He raced in the World Triathlon Championships three times with the Hawaiian Ironman and was first overall in the Huntsman World Senior Games at age 64. Other athletic highlights of Alan’s include: swimming across the Golden Gate Bridge three times, swimming from Alcatraz to the San Francisco shore five times, swimming from Treasure Island to Embarcadero three times, and again swimming from Angel Island to Tiburon three times.
Alan was an active member of the UC Berkeley campus during his undergraduate career as a member of Circle C and Big C. He recalls his years in Sigma Alpha Epsilon extremely fondly: “I enjoyed the four years that I lived at the fraternity house. Looking back, I chose the best place for me to live and enjoy the friendships that I acquired there. I still have fraternity friends that I enjoy visiting with– I made no mistake in choosing SAE.”
