Tony Knap

Early years and college

The oldest son of Polish immigrants, Knap was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 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 to the University of Idaho in Moscow and played on the Vandals freshman team in the fall of 1935, then lettered for three seasons (1936–38) on the varsity under head coach Ted Bank. Among his UI teammates were future head coaches and administrators Lyle Smith and Steve Belko. 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 selection at end, The Vandals broke to an early 3–0–1 start in 1938 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.

Knap was also a pitcher and utility player for three seasons on the varsity baseball team, and a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

High school coach

After earning a bachelor's degree in education in 1939,

He attended a summer coaching clinic in 1949 in the Bay Area and was offered a head coaching position at Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, California. Knap accepted and moved his family south to northern California. He stayed at the East Bay 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 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.

After posting a regular season record in his final three years at USU, Ralston left Logan for Stanford after the 1962 season and Knap was quickly promoted to head coach, where he compiled a record in four seasons, from 1963 to 1966. His 1965 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 in the Canadian Football League (CFL).

In rivalry games, his Utah State teams were 3–1 against BYU for The Old Wagon Wheel and 2–2 against Utah in the Battle of the Brothers.

Boise State

The Lions had a woeful year in 1967, going 3–12–1 and finishing in last in the CFL's Western Division. Knap did not return for another season. Instead, he succeeded Lyle Smith 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, hired his former Vandal teammate. It was Boise's first year as an NAIA independent; it had previously competed in the junior college ranks. Two years later in 1970, the Broncos began play in the NCAA in Division II (then the "College Division") and the Big Sky Conference. Knap led the Broncos to a 71–19–1 () record in eight years, including three ten-win seasons and three consecutive Big Sky titles (1973–75). His salary was $16,800 in 1971 and $18,800 in 1972.

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.

UNLV

His success in Boise led him south to Las Vegas in 1976, where he coached UNLV for six seasons and compiled a record, stepping down at age 67 after the 1981 season. UNLV made the Division II playoffs in his first season and moved up to Division I-A in 1978, his third season at the school. While Knap was head coach, the Rebels played as an independent; UNLV joined the PCAA the following season in 1982. He was inducted into UNLV's hall of fame in 1989.

He led the Rebels to a 3–1 record over Nevada in the rivalry game for the Fremont Cannon. 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 from Idaho, completing it in 1953 while in California.

Following his retirement from coaching, Knap and his wife moved to Walla Walla, Washington, 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. She died two years later at age 93, also in Pullman.

Head coaching record

College

References

References

1. (January 23, 1963). "Knap, a former all-city gridder, named head coach at Utah State". Milwaukee Journal.
2. (December 10, 1935). "Milwaukee boys star on Idaho frosh '11'". Milwaukee Journal.
3. (1936). "Freshman football (fall 1935)". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook.
4. (1937). "Football (fall 1936)". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook.
5. (1938). "Football (fall 1937)". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook.
6. (1939). "1938 Football". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook.
7. (October 14, 1938). "Ding-dong gridiron battle expected Saturday when Idaho and Gonzaga tangle at Moscow". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
8. (October 6, 1937). "Idaho is given final session". Spokesman-Review.
9. (December 23, 1973). "What Leon Green has in mind for Vandal athletics". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
10. (August 8, 1978). "Forty years ago". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
11. (January 1938). "George Thiessen may join Rams in pro grid circuit". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
12. (February 12, 1940). "Stonko Pavkov to Pittsburgh". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
13. (January 28, 1968). "Dean of Education". Oxnard Press-Courier.
14. Gibbs, Rafe. (November 18, 1937). "Knap, Milwaukee boy, makes All-Coast team". Milwaukee Journal.
15. (July 13, 1938). "Idaho football prospects good". Bend Bulletin.
16. (October 15, 1938). "Vandals ready to hit Gonzaga". Spokesman-Review.
17. (December 3, 1938). "All-Coast grid team selected". Spokesman-Review.
18. (October 21, 1938). "Idaho in Rose Bowl? It surely can happen". Milwaukee Journal.
19. Johnson, Bob. (February 1, 1965). "Dee Andros named Oregon State grid coach". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
20. (April 4, 1937). "Vandals' ball squad to invade West Coast". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
21. (April 7, 1938). "Vandals' ball team stronger". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
22. (April 4, 1939). "Idaho nine set for Oregon series". Eugene Register-Guard.
23. (1939). "Seniors". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook.
24. (1939). "Sigma Alpha Epsilon". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook.
25. (January 23, 1963). "Knap is hired by Utah State". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
26. (May 13, 1939). "Tony Knap signs up as coach at Bonners Ferry". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
27. (November 27, 1942). "Glances from the sidelines at the Turkey Day game". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
28. (September 29, 2011). "Anthony Joseph (Tony) Knap, 96". Lewiston Tribune.
29. (September 16, 1959). "New Aggie coaching duo is shootin' high". Deseret News.
30. [http://www.utahstateaggies.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/100611aab.html Utah State Aggies.com] - Former Aggie football coach Tony Knap recently passed away - 2011-10-06 - accessed 2012-03-25
31. Hoffman, Doug. (October 6, 2011). "Former Aggie football coach Tony Knap dies at 96". Deseret News.
32. One of those lineman was [[Merlin Olsen]], a future [[Pro Football Hall of Fame. hall of famer]] in the [[National Football League
33. (January 23, 1963). "Knap is hired by Utah State". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
34. (January 19, 1967). "Tony Knap resigns". Spokesman-Review.
35. "1967 Regular Season Standings". [[Canadian Football League]].
36. Bronco Bob. (August 16, 2009). "The Story Of A Bronco Legend". [[Scout.com]].
37. (June 1, 1972). "School board okehs raise for Boise State football coach". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
38. (January 30, 1976). "Knap leaves Boise State for Las Vegas". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
39. (January 30, 1976). "Boise's Knap off to Vegas". Spokesman-Review.
40. (November 24, 1981). "Knap resigns at UNLV, plans to grow apples". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
41. Anderson, Mark. (January 30, 2011). "UNLV memories most vivid for Knap". [[Las Vegas Review-Journal]].
42. (1936). "Freshman". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook.
43. (November 6, 2013). "Doris McFarland Knap". Lewiston Tribune.
44. [http://shortsfuneralchapel.com/archives/626 shortsfuneralchapel.net] - obituaries - Tony Knap - accessed 2012-03-25
45. (August 8, 1982). "Tony Knap loved his years in coaching, now he's learning to love retirement". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
46. Anderson, Mark. (September 26, 2011). "Former UNLV football coach Tony Knap dies at 96". [[Las Vegas Review-Journal]].