Donald Eugene Heap (September 28, 1912 – March 21, 2016) 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 ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player and coach. He was twice selected as an All-American football player while playing for the

Northwestern Wildcats football The Northwestern Wildcats football team represents Northwestern University as an NCAA Division I college football team and member of the Big Ten Conference based near Chicago in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern began playing fo ...

team.

Early years

Heap was born in 1912 in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, the son of Frank Heap and Rosella (Van Geem) Heap. He attended Evanston Township High School, where he played football, basketball, and baseball, and graduated in 1930.

Northwestern

Heap subsequently enrolled at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in Evanston, where he played football and basketball, and was a member of

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...

. He played at the halfback position for the

team from 1936 to 1938. As a sophomore, he was selected by the

Central Press Association The Central Press Association was American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. Originally independent, it was a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate from 1930 onwards. At its peak, the ...

as a first-team halfback on the

1936 College Football All-America Team The 1936 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1936. The nine selectors recognized by the ...

. As a senior, he served as the captain of Northwestern's football team, was named its most valuable player and was selected by

Paramount News Paramount News is the name on the newsreels produced by Paramount Pictures from 1927 to 1957. History The Paramount newsreel operation began in 1927 with Emanuel Cohen as an editor. It typically distributed two issues per week to theaters across t ...

to the

1938 College Football All-America Team The 1938 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1938. The nine selectors recognized by the N ...

.1939 Northwestern University yearbook, p. 163 (profile of Heap). In his three years at Northwestern, Heap was a triple-threat player, handling kicking, passing and rushing responsibilities and calling signals for the team. He averaged more than five yards per carry. Northwestern coach

Pappy Waldorf Lynn Osbert "Pappy" Waldorf (October 3, 1902 – August 15, 1981) was an American college football player and coach. He received the first national collegiate football coach of the year award in 1935. Waldorf became known for his motivational coac ...

said that Heap had one of the best football minds he had encountered.

Coaching career

After graduating from Northwestern, Heap was hired as the head football and baseball coach at

Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockfor ...

, where he served for three years. His teams won two

Illinois College Conference The Illinois College Conference (ICC) was an college athletic conference that operated from 1938 to 1946 in the U.S. state of Illinois. The league was proposed in the spring of 1937 and formed later that year at a meeting in Peoria, Illinois. The t ...

championships. 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 ...

, Heap served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, attaining the rank of lieutenant commander. His naval service included one year as an assistant coach for the

Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

team at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. He also served at a naval aviation base in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

shire, England. In 1946, after his discharge from the Navy, Heap was hired by Northwestern University as its freshman football coach and assistant baseball coach. In 1947, Heap became head baseball coach at Northwestern and continued his position with the football team. Heap served two seasons as head baseball coach, compiling a 21–25–1 record from 1947 to 1948.

Head coaching record

Football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heap, Don 1912 births 2016 deaths American football halfbacks Illinois Wesleyan Titans baseball coaches Illinois Wesleyan Titans football coaches Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football coaches Northwestern Wildcats baseball coaches Northwestern Wildcats football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football players United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers Sportspeople from Evanston, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois American centenarians Men centenarians Military personnel from Illinois