In a May 1908 meet in Chicago, Messmer threw for a distance of 129 feet, 9 inches (39.54 meters), a distance that would have taken the bronze medal two months later at the 1908 Olympics. He reportedly won every discus competition he ever entered. He qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in 1908 with the best discus throw in the country, but he withdrew from the Olympic team because of a brother's illness. Messmer was also a member of the University of Wisconsin baseball team that toured Japan in 1909.