Anthony Joseph Knap (December 8, 1914 – September 24, 2011) 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 ...

coach. He was the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

(1963–1966),

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

(1968–1975), and the

University of Nevada, Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

(1976–1981). He compiled a career

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 ...

record of (). Knap also worked as a high school teacher and coach, and served in the

U.S. 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 o ...

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 ...

Early years and college

The oldest son of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

immigrants, Knap was born and raised in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, and graduated from Riverside High School (a.k.a. East), where he was an All-City selection in football in 1934. Along with three other Milwaukee freshman, he accepted a football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

to the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The University ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and played on the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal Kingdom, Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The ...

freshman team in the fall of 1935, then lettered for three seasons (1936–38) on the varsity under head coach

Ted Bank Theodore Paul Bank (December 13, 1897 – June 3, 1986) was an American college football player, coach, and Bank was a starting quarterback for Fielding Yost's 1920 and 1921 Wolverine football teams. He graduated from the university in 192 ...

. Among his UI teammates were future head coaches and administrators

Lyle Smith Lyle Hilton Smith (March 17, 1916 – July 26, 2017) was an American football and basketball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Boise Junior College—now Boise State University&mdas ...

and

Steve Belko Stephen Maxmillian Belko (February 14, 1916 – May 12, 2000) was an American college basketball coach at Idaho State College and the University of Oregon. He was later the third commissioner of the Big Sky Conference. Playing career The son of ...

. Other teammates included future Idaho athletic director Leon Green, and NFL pros George "Iron Man" Thiessen (Rams), Stonko Pavkov (Steelers), Dean Green (Eagles), Richard "Truck" Trzuskowski (Lions), and Hal Roise (Bears). As a senior in 1938, Knap was a second-team All-

Coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

selection at

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

, the only Vandal to make any of the three teams. The Vandals broke to an early 3–0–1 start in

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

and there was early talk of the Rose Bowl in the national press. Three conference losses later, the Vandals finished the season at , Idaho's last winning season for a quarter century; not improved upon until

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

. Knap was also a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

for three seasons on the varsity

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 ...

team, and a member of the

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

High school coach

After earning a bachelor's degree in education in 1939, Knap became a high school teacher and coach for three years in

Bonners Ferry Bonners Ferry (Kutenai language: ʔaq̓anqmi) is the largest city and the county seat of Boundary County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,543 at the 2010 census. History When gold was discovered in the East Kootenays of British ...

, just south of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. While waiting for his military commission following the outbreak of

, he spent a fall at Lewiston High School in 1942 as an assistant under former Vandal teammate

. Knap served in the

, then returned to coaching after the war back in Idaho at

Potlatch A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States,Harkin, Michael E., 2001, Potlatch in Anthropology, International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Science ...

, near Moscow, and stayed with the Loggers until the summer of 1949. He attended a summer coaching clinic in 1949 in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

and was offered a head coaching position at Pittsburg High School in

Pittsburg, California Pittsburg is a city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is an industrial suburb located on the southern shore of the Suisun Bay in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, and is part ...

. Knap accepted and moved his family south to

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. He stayed at the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa countie ...

school for ten years, through the 1958 season; his overall record as a high school coach was .

College coach

Utah State

Knap left Pittsburg to become an assistant coach at

Utah State Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public land-grant research university in Logan, Utah. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. With nearly 20,000 students living on or near campus, USU is Utah's ...

in 1959 under new coach John Ralston. He was credited with developing the big, agile lines which contributed to the Aggies' rise to national prominence. One of those lineman was

Merlin Olsen Merlin Jay Olsen (; September 15, 1940 – March 11, 2010) was an American football player, announcer, and actor. For his entire 15-year professional football career he was a defensive tackle with the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football Le ...

, a future

hall of famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

in the NFL. (Olsen selected Knap for his presenter at the enshrinement ceremonies in 1982.) After posting a regular season record in his final three years at USU, Ralston left

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...

for

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

after the

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

season and Knap was quickly promoted to head coach, where he compiled a record in four seasons, from

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. His

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

team was 8–2, but the Aggies slipped to 4–6 in 1966. With mixed support from his administrators, Knap resigned in January 1967 to accept a position with the

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). In rivalry games, his Utah State teams were 3–1 against

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

for

The Old Wagon Wheel ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

and 2–2 against

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

in the

Battle of the Brothers The Battle of the Brothers is the name given to the Utah–Utah State football rivalry. It is an American college football rivalry between the Utah Utes of the University of Utah and Utah State Aggies from Utah State University. Utah leads ...

Boise State

The Lions had a woeful year in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, going 3–12–1 and finishing in last in the CFL's Western Division. Knap did not return for another season. Instead, he succeeded

as head coach at Boise College in 1968, soon to become "Boise State College" ''(and BSU in 1974).'' Smith had just stepped down as head coach and as the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

, hired his former

Vandal The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area betw ...

teammate. It was Boise's first year as an NAIA independent; it had previously competed in the

junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...

ranks. Two years later in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

, the Broncos began play in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

in Division II (then the "College Division") and the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

. Knap led the Broncos to a () record in eight years, including three ten-win seasons and three consecutive Big Sky titles His salary was $16,800 in

and $18,800 in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. Knap led the Broncos to a 3–1–1 record against his alma mater in the first five games of the

Boise State–Idaho rivalry Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...

UNLV

His success in Boise led him south to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, where he coached

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

for six seasons and compiled a record, stepping down at age 67 after the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

season. UNLV made the Division II playoffs in his first season and moved up to

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, his third season at the school. While Knap was head coach, the Rebels played as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

; UNLV joined the PCAA the following season in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

. He was inducted into UNLV's hall of fame in 1989. He led the Rebels to a 3–1 record over

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in the rivalry game for the

Fremont Cannon The Fremont Cannon is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Battle for Nevada (also known as the Nevada–UNLV football rivalry), an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Nevada Wolf Pack football team of the University ...

. The game was not played in 1980, 1981, or 1982.

Personal life

Knap married Doris Adella "Mickey" McFarland (1920–2013), a former UI student born in St. Maries, during his first year as a teacher. They were wed in April 1941 in Bonners Ferry and had three daughters: Jacqueline, Angeline, and Caroline. In addition to his bachelor's degree, he also earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from Idaho, completing it in 1953 while in California. Following his retirement from coaching, Knap and his wife moved to

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

in 1982. They were married over 70 years when he died on September 24, 2011 at Bishop Place Retirement Center in Pullman; he was age 96 and had suffered for several years from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. She died two years later at age 93, also in Pullman.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knap, Tony 1914 births 2011 deaths American people of Polish descent BC Lions coaches Boise State Broncos football coaches Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Neurological disease deaths in Washington (state) High school football coaches in California High school football coaches in Idaho Idaho Vandals baseball players Idaho Vandals football players Players of American football from Milwaukee Sportspeople from Milwaukee University of Idaho alumni UNLV Rebels football coaches Utah State Aggies football coaches United States Navy personnel of World War II