Frank (Knute) Gnup spent most of his long and
highly successful sports career so far from home that many Beaver Countians
are unaware of his achievements. At Aliquippa High School, Frank starred in football and baseball and
also played basketball, graduating in 1935. In 1934 and 1935 he was
named All WPIAL Class A quarterback, the first Aliquippa player to
earn that honor. In those days, football players played both ways,
and Frank was also an outstanding defensive back. After high school
he enrolled in Manhattan College and starred there as a guard,
quarterback, blocking back, and linebacker, averaging 30 tackles
per game as a linebacker even though he only weighed 172 pounds.
After playing Air Force football during World War II, Frank was
drafted by the Buffalo Bills but decided on the Canadian
Football League, where was a player and coach for the Hamilton Tigercats
and Toronto Argonauts. Frank retired as a player in 1950 and
began his college coaching career in 1955 at the University of
British Columbia. He was head football coach at the University of
British Columbia for 18 seasons until health problems forced his
retirement in 1974. After Frank died in
1976 at age 59, the British Columbia Provincial Football
Championship for high school teams was renamed in his honor, a tribute to the fact that his University of British Columbia
grid teams had won three Western Conference championships, in spite
of the fact that the school did not recruit and de-emphasized
sports.
Frank (Knute) Gnup spent most of his long and
highly successful sports career so far from home that many Beaver Countians
are unaware of his achievements. At Aliquippa High School, Frank starred in football and baseball and
also played basketball, graduating in 1935. In 1934 and 1935 he was
named All WPIAL Class A quarterback, the first Aliquippa player to
earn that honor. In those days, football players played both ways,
and Frank was also an outstanding defensive back. After high school
he enrolled in Manhattan College and starred there as a guard,
quarterback, blocking back, and linebacker, averaging 30 tackles
per game as a linebacker even though he only weighed 172 pounds.
After playing Air Force football during World War II, Frank was
drafted by the Buffalo Bills but decided on the Canadian
Football League, where was a player and coach for the Hamilton Tigercats
and Toronto Argonauts. Frank retired as a player in 1950 and
began his college coaching career in 1955 at the University of
British Columbia. He was head football coach at the University of
British Columbia for 18 seasons until health problems forced his
retirement in 1974. After Frank died in
1976 at age 59, the British Columbia Provincial Football
Championship for high school teams was renamed in his honor, a tribute to the fact that his University of British Columbia
grid teams had won three Western Conference championships, in spite
of the fact that the school did not recruit and de-emphasized
sports.