Frank Gnup

Canadian football player (1917–1976)

Frank GnupDate of birth| (1917-04-05)April 5, 1917

|

Place of birth| Aliquippa, Pennsylvania
Date of death| September 27, 1976(1976-09-27) (aged 59)
Place of death| Vancouver, British Columbia
Career information
Position(s)| Halfback & Quarterback
US college| Manhattan College
Career history
As coach
1955–73| UBC Thunderbirds
As player
1946–49| Hamilton Wildcats
1950| Toronto Argonauts
1952| Brantford Redskins
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star| 1946
Awards| 1946 - Imperial Oil Trophy

Frank Theodore Gnup (April 5, 1917 - September 27, 1976) was an American quarterback, halfback and coach who played Canadian football from 1946 to 1952.

A native of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania who was a star player at Manhattan College,[1] Gnup took the Ontario Rugby Football Union by storm in 1946 as a player-coach, leading his Hamilton Wildcats to the league championship game, was named an all-star, and won the Imperial Oil Trophy as ORFU most valuable player.[2] He played in Hamilton for 3 more seasons,[3][4] but had a falling-out,[5] and played the 1950 season with the Toronto Argonauts (6 regular season games.)[6] He finished his playing days in 1952 with the Brantford Redskins of the ORFU.

After his playing days Gnup took up coaching in 1955 with the UBC Thunderbirds.[7] His 18 years at the University of British Columbia are legendary, and in 1999 he was enshrined in the UBC Sports Hall of Fame.[8] He has since been honoured by having the AAA Provincial Championships and the CWUAA Frank Gnup Memorial Trophy as Player of the Year named after him. The ever cigar chomping Gnup died of a heart attack September 27, 1976, aged 59.[9]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Local boy makes good, by Havey Boyle Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 25, 1940
2. ^ O.R.F.U. Honors Coach Frank Gnup Edmonton Journal, November 14, 1946
3. ^ "Hamilton Tiger-Cats Alumni Association". www.htcaa.ca.
4. ^ Frank Gnup Plans Precision Plays Calgary Herald, October 15, 1947
5. ^ Frank Gnup is Suing Hamilton Calgary Herald, May 20, 1950
6. ^ 2008 Toronto Argonauts Media Guide
7. ^ Frank Gnup New Coach at UBC The Leader-Post, June 30, 1955
8. ^ "UBC Sports Hall of Fame: Frank Gnup". Archived from the original on April 15, 2012.
9. ^ "Frank Gnup". The New York Times. Vancouver, B.C. Associated Press. September 29, 1976. Retrieved September 26, 2020.

* v
* t
* e

Toronto Argonauts 38th Grey Cup champions

* Les Ascott
* Billy Bass
* Pete Bennett
* Fred Black
* Ulysses Curtis
* Jake Dunlap
* Al Dekdebrun
* Ed Hirsch
* Bud Fowler
* Frank Gnup
* Byron Karrys
* Joe Krol
* Don McKenzie
* Lorne Parkin
* John Kerns
* Pete Titanic
* Bill McCormick
* Johnny Shore
* Doug Smylie
* Rod Smylie
* Ted Toogood
* Nick Volpe
* Marv Whaley
* Jack Wedley
* Bob Westlake
* Arnie Stocks
* Don Scott

* Head coach: Frank Clair

* v
* t
* e

Imperial Oil Trophy \- Most Valuable Player in the Ontario Rugby Football Union

* 1934: Norm Perry
* 1935: Hugh "Bummer" Stirling
* 1936: Syd Reynolds
* 1937: Ormond Beach
* 1938: John Ferraro
* 1939: Eddie Thompson
* 1940: Nick Paithouski
* 1941: Al Lenard
* 1942: Bill Stukus
* 1943: Bob Cosgrove
* 1944: Joe Krol
* 1945: Arnie McWatters
* 1946: Frank Gnup
* 1947: Bob Paffrath
* 1948: Frank Filchock
* 1949: Don "Sleepy" Knowles
* 1950: Carl Galbreath
* 1951: Bruce Mattingly
* 1952: John Pont
* 1953: Dick Gregory
* 1954: Bob Celeri
* 1955: Bob Celeri

* v
* t
* e

UBC Thunderbirds head football coaches

* Gordon Burke (1923–1936)
* Maury Van Vliet (1937–1941)
* John Farina (1942)
* No team (1943–1944)
* Greg Kabat (1945–1947)
* Don Wilson (1948)
* Orville Burke (1949–1950)
* Jelly Anderson (1951–1952)
* Don Coryell (1953–1954)
* Frank Gnup (1955–1972)
* Norm Thomas (1973)
* Frank Smith (1974–1994)
* Casey Smith (1995–1997)
* Dave Johnson (1998)
* Jay Prepchuk (1999–2001)
* Laurent DesLauriers (2002–2005)
* Ted Goveia (2006–2009)
* Shawn Olson (2010–2014)
* Blake Nill (2015–present)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template