Abraham Barr Snively II (February 9, 1899 – April 15, 1964) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach of

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

, football, and

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

. He played football for

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

from 1921 to 1923 and was captain of the 1923 team. He held coaching positions at

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

in lacrosse, football and hockey from 1928 to 1948 and at the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

from 1953 to 1964.

Early years

Snively was a native of

Waynesboro, Pennsylvania Waynesboro is a borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on the southern border of the state. Waynesboro is in the Cumberland Valley between Hagerstown, Maryland, and Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of Chambersburg, PA Micropolitan Stat ...

. He was the son of A. Barr Snively I (c. 1869 – October 1944), a prominent physician and surgeon in Waynesboro, and Mary Carlisle Snively. Snively played football at Waynesboro High School on a team that ''The Daily News'' (

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

) called "the best foot ball team ever representing the Waynesboro High School." Snively served in the U.S. military during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After leaving the military, Snively enrolled at

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximat ...

where he received

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

s in five sports, graduating in 1919. He subsequently attended

from which he graduated in 1924. He played as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the

Princeton Tigers football The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University and competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Championship, Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member ...

team from 1921 to 1923. Despite playing in the line, Snively became known as "the best forward-passer in the East." In December 1922, he was voted as the captain of the 1923 Princeton football team. Throughout his athletic career as a player and coach, Snively was known by the nickname "Whoop" (sometimes "Whoops").

Coaching career

In 1925, Snively became the head coach of the Rumford High School football team in

Rumford, Maine Rumford is a New England town, town in Oxford County, Maine, Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,858 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Rumford is home to both ND Paper Inc's Rumford Mill and the Black Mountain ...

. In 1928, Snively became an assistant football coach, in charge of linemen, at

, working under

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

inductee

Charlie Caldwell Charles William Caldwell (August 2, 1901 – November 1, 1957) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Williams College for 15 seasons between 1928 and 1944 and at Princeton Un ...

. In April 1929, Snively was hired by

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

as its line coach under head coach

Tuss McLaughry DeOrmond "Tuss" McLaughry (May 19, 1893 – November 26, 1974) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania (1915–1916, 1918, 1921), Amherst College (192 ...

. Snively also coached

at Brown. Snively returned to Williams College in 1932. Over the next 11 years, he resumed his duties as line coach for the football team and also served as the head coach of the lacrosse and men's ice hockey teams. Snively took a leave of absence from Williams in 1942 to serve with the Red Cross in the Pacific Theater of Operations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Williams discontinued its football program during the war years from 1943 to 1945. In March 1945, Williams was hired as an assistant football coach at

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

under head coach

. Snively returned to Williams in September 1945 and resumed his posts as football line coach and head coach for the hockey and lacrosse team. In January 1946, he became the head football coach at Williams; he held that position for the 1946 and 1947 seasons. Snively noted that his greatest love in sports was ice hockey, and he coached the Williams College men's ice hockey team for 16 years. While at Williams, Snively also coached freshman teams and varsity lacrosse teams. In February 1948, Snively was replaced by Len Watters as Williams' head football coach, though he continued to serve thereafter as the school's lacrosse and hockey coach. In the fall of 1948, Snively served as an assistant football coach at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

under head coach Eck Allen. From 1949 through the 1951, Snively was the head football coach at

Clarkson University Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York, and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region and Beacon, New York. It was founded in 1896 and has an enr ...

. When Clarkson discontinued football in 1952, Snively became the school's director of intramural athletics. In March 1953, Snively was hired by the

as the line coach for its football team and as the head coach for its lacrosse team. He held those positions for the next 12 years. His lacrosse teams at New Hampshire compiled and 84–43 record and won a national divisional championship and five New England divisional championships. He was also the men's ice hockey coach at New Hampshire from 1962 to 1964.

Death and posthumous honors

In April 1964, Snively died of a heart attack while at a gas station in

Durham, New Hampshire Durham is a town in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 15,490 at the 2020 census, up from 14,638 at the 2010 census.United States Census BureauU.S. Census website 2010 Census figures. Retrieved March 23, 2011. D ...

. He was survived by his wive, Eva (Owen) Snively; a son, A. Barr Snively III, and a daughter, Virginia O. Snively. In December 1964, the

United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the varsi ...

posthumously voted Snively its Coach of the Year award. Snively's lacrosse teams accumulated 116 victories, including his 85-47 record at New Hampshire. He had also coached lacrosse at Brown, Williams, Clarkson and Maine. In February 1965, the University of New Hampshire dedicated Snively Arena, named after Coach Snively, to be used by the institution's hockey team and for other athletic events. The A. Barr "Whoop" Snively Scholarship Fund was established in 1966. It provides scholarship support to a third-year student who has participated in hockey, lacrosse, or football.A. Barr "Whoop" Snively Scholarship Fund at UNH Foundation
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Head coaching record

Ice hockey

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snively, A. Barr 1899 births 1964 deaths American football ends American football guards Brown Bears football coaches Clarkson Golden Knights football coaches Maine Black Bears football coaches New Hampshire Wildcats football coaches New Hampshire Wildcats men's ice hockey coaches Princeton Tigers football players Williams Ephs football coaches Williams Ephs men's lacrosse coaches High school football coaches in Maine American military personnel of World War I Mercersburg Academy alumni People from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania American people of World War II