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 ...

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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 ...

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Ottumwa, Iowa Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves b ...

1880 United States Census The United States census of 1880 conducted by the Census Bureau during June 1880 was the tenth United States census.Fairfield, Iowa where his father was employed as a professor at Parsons College.

Parsons College and Princeton

Knight began his college education at Parsons College, the liberal arts college where his father was a professor. He enrolled at

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 ...

in approximately 1893. As a senior in 1895, Knight played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

as an end 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. While attending Princeton, Knight listed Chicago as his home city and was the vice president of Princeton's Chicago Club. He also lettered in gymnastics and rowing. He graduated from Princeton as part of the Class of 1896.

Early professional career

In approximately 1898, Knight accepted a job in Chicago as the Michigan agent for Ginn & Co., a leading publisher of textbooks. He became affiliated with the Chicago Athletic Club while living in that city. Knight was a member of the Detroit Rowing Club from 1898 to 1900. At the time of the 1900 United States Census, he was living in Detroit and was employed as an agent for a life insurance company. In 1901, Knight was a representative of the New York Life Insurance Company, at the Majestic Building in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. In 1902, he was employed as a civil engineer for the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co.

University of Michigan

In 1901, Knight enrolled in law school at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, receiving his law degree in 1902. While studying at Michigan, he played for the Michigan's 1901 "Point-a-Minute" football team that finished the season 11–0, outscored opponents 550 to 0, and won the first college football bowl game, the

1902 Rose Bowl Originally titled the "Tournament East–West football game," what is now known as the Rose Bowl Game was first played on January 1, 1902, at Tournament Park in Pasadena, California, starting the tradition of New Year's Day bowl games. The inaugu ...

. Knight started at right end in four games for the 1901 Michigan team, including the first two games of the season. He also played as a substitute in the Indiana and Carlisle games. He was also the manager and catcher for the University of Michigan law school class baseball team in 1902.

University of Washington

In 1902, Knight moved to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. He was employed from 1902 to 1905 as a civil engineer for the Seattle Electric Co. While in Seattle, he also served as the head athletic instructor and football coach at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

from 1902 to 1904, compiling a record of 15–4–1. He also served as the first rowing and second men's track coach at Washington. In 1905, he worked for the Boston Copper Co., of Seattle.

Later years

In early 1905, Knight resigned from his post at Washington and announced his intentions to assist

Art Hillebrand Arthur Ralph Thomas "Doc" Hillebrand (March 9, 1876 – December 14, 1941) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played college football as a tackle for Princeton University. Hillebrand served as head football coach at the U ...

with coaching the Princeton football team. He attended the Princeton Theological Seminary from 1905 to 1906 and subsequently moved to

Caldwell, Idaho Caldwell (locally CALL-dwel) is a city in and the county seat of Canyon County, Idaho. The population was 59,996 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Caldwell is considered part of the Boise metropolitan area. Caldwell is the location of ...

. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Knight was living in South Caldwell, Idaho, where his occupation was listed as a farmer. In 1969, he died aged 93.https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/VGRY-ZLV

Head coaching record

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, James 1875 births 1969 deaths 19th-century players of American football American football ends Michigan Wolverines football players Princeton Tigers football players Washington Huskies football coaches Washington Huskies men's rowing coaches Washington Huskies track and field coaches University of Michigan Law School alumni People from Caldwell, Idaho People from Ottumwa, Iowa Coaches of American football from Iowa Players of American football from Iowa

Early years