A. Barr Snively
Encyclopedia
A. Barr "Whoop" Snively II (c. 1899 – April 15, 1964) was an American football
player and coach of lacrosse
, football, and ice hockey
. He played football for Princeton University
from 1921 to 1923 and was captain of the 1923 team. He held coaching positions at Williams College
in lacrosse, football and hockey from 1928 to 1948 and at the University of New Hampshire
from 1953 to 1964.
. He was the son of A. Barr Snively I (c. 1869 – October 1944), a prominent physician and surgeon in Waynesboro, and Mary Carlisle Snively. Snively played football at Waynesboro High School on a team that The Daily News (Frederick, Maryland
) called "the best foot ball team ever representing the Waynesboro High School."
Snively served in the U.S. military during World War I
. After leaving the military, Snively enrolled at Mercersburg Academy
where he received varsity letter
s in five sports, graduating in 1919. He subsequently attended Princeton University
from which he graduated in 1924. He played as a guard
for the Princeton Tigers football
team from 1921 to 1923. Despite playing in the line, Snively became known as "the best forward-passer in the East." In December 1922, he was voted as the captain of the 1923 Princeton football team. Throughout his athletic career as a player and coach, Snively was known by the nickname "Whoop" (sometimes "Whoops").
In 1928, Snively became an assistant football coach, in charge of linemen, at Williams College
, working under College Football Hall of Fame
inductee Charlie Caldwell
. In April 1929, Snively was hired by Brown University
as its line coach under head coach Tuss McLaughry
. Snively also coached lacrosse
at Brown.
Snively returned to Williams College in 1932. Over the next 11 years, he resumed his duties as line coach for the football team and also served as the head coach of the lacrosse and men's ice hockey teams.
Snively took a leave of absence from Williams in 1942 to serve with the Red Cross in the Pacific Theater of Operations
during World War II
. Williams discontinued its football program during the war years from 1943 to 1945.
In March 1945, Williams was hired as an assistant football coach at Dartmouth College
under head coach Tuss McLaughry
.
Snively returned to Williams in September 1945 and resumed his posts as football line coach and head coach for the hockey and lacrosse team. In January 1946, he became the head football coach at Williams; he held that position for the 1946 and 1947 seasons. Snively noted that his greatest love in sports was ice hockey, and he coached the Williams College men's ice hockey team for 16 years. While at Williams, Snively also coached freshman teams and varsity lacrosse teams. In February 1948, Snively was replaced by Len Watters as Williams' head football coach, though he continued to serve thereafter as the school's lacrosse and hockey coach.
In the fall of 1948, Snively served as an assistant football coach at the University of Maine
under head coach Eck Allen.
From 1949 through the 1952, Snively was the head football coach at Clarkson University
. When Clarkson discontinued football in 1952, Snively became the school's director of intramural athletics.
In March 1953, Snively was hired by the University of New Hampshire
as the line coach for its football team and as the head coach for its lacrosse team. He held those positions for the next 12 years. His lacrosse teams at New Hampshire compiled and 84-43 record and won a national divisional championship and five New England divisional championships. He was also the men's ice hockey coach at New Hampshire from 1962 to 1964.
. He was survived by his wive, Eva (Owen) Snively; a son, A. Barr Snively III, and a daughter, Virginia O. Snively.
In December 1964, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association
posthumously voted Snively its Coach of the Year award. Snively's lacrosse teams accumulated 116 victories, including his 85-47 record at New Hampshire. He had also coached lacrosse at Brown, Williams, Clarkson and Maine.
In February 1965, the University of New Hampshire dedicated Snively Arena, named after Coach Snively, to be used by the institution's hockey team and for other athletic events.
The A. Barr "Whoop" Snively Scholarship Fund was established in 1966. It provides scholarship support to a third-year student who has participated in hockey, lacrosse, or football.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and coach of lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, football, and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. He played football for Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
from 1921 to 1923 and was captain of the 1923 team. He held coaching positions at Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
in lacrosse, football and hockey from 1928 to 1948 and at the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
from 1953 to 1964.
Early years
Snively was a native of Waynesboro, PennsylvaniaWaynesboro, Pennsylvania
Waynesboro is a borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, located northwest of Baltimore, Maryland, 67 miles southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and north of the Mason-Dixon Line. The population within the borough limits was 9,614 at the 2000 census. When combined with the surrounding...
. He was the son of A. Barr Snively I (c. 1869 – October 1944), a prominent physician and surgeon in Waynesboro, and Mary Carlisle Snively. Snively played football at Waynesboro High School on a team that The Daily News (Frederick, Maryland
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
) called "the best foot ball team ever representing the Waynesboro High School."
Snively served in the U.S. military during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After leaving the military, Snively enrolled at Mercersburg Academy
Mercersburg Academy
Mercersburg Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school for grades 9-12 located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The school's mission is:...
where he received varsity letter
Varsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
s in five sports, graduating in 1919. He subsequently attended Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
from which he graduated in 1924. He played as a guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
for the Princeton Tigers football
Princeton Tigers football
The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
team from 1921 to 1923. Despite playing in the line, Snively became known as "the best forward-passer in the East." In December 1922, he was voted as the captain of the 1923 Princeton football team. Throughout his athletic career as a player and coach, Snively was known by the nickname "Whoop" (sometimes "Whoops").
Coaching career
In 1925, Snively became the head coach of the Rumford High School football team in Rumford, Maine.In 1928, Snively became an assistant football coach, in charge of linemen, at Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
, working under College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
inductee Charlie Caldwell
Charlie Caldwell
Charles William Caldwell was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Williams College for 15 seasons between 1928 and 1944 and at Princeton University from 1945 to 1956, compiling a career college football record of...
. In April 1929, Snively was hired by Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
as its line coach under head coach Tuss McLaughry
Tuss McLaughry
DeOrmond "Tuss" McLaughry was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania , Amherst College , Brown University , and Dartmouth College , compiling a career college...
. Snively also coached lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
at Brown.
Snively returned to Williams College in 1932. Over the next 11 years, he resumed his duties as line coach for the football team and also served as the head coach of the lacrosse and men's ice hockey teams.
Snively took a leave of absence from Williams in 1942 to serve with the Red Cross in the Pacific Theater of Operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Williams discontinued its football program during the war years from 1943 to 1945.
In March 1945, Williams was hired as an assistant football coach at Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
under head coach Tuss McLaughry
Tuss McLaughry
DeOrmond "Tuss" McLaughry was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania , Amherst College , Brown University , and Dartmouth College , compiling a career college...
.
Snively returned to Williams in September 1945 and resumed his posts as football line coach and head coach for the hockey and lacrosse team. In January 1946, he became the head football coach at Williams; he held that position for the 1946 and 1947 seasons. Snively noted that his greatest love in sports was ice hockey, and he coached the Williams College men's ice hockey team for 16 years. While at Williams, Snively also coached freshman teams and varsity lacrosse teams. In February 1948, Snively was replaced by Len Watters as Williams' head football coach, though he continued to serve thereafter as the school's lacrosse and hockey coach.
In the fall of 1948, Snively served as an assistant football coach at the University of Maine
University of Maine
The University of Maine is a public research university located in Orono, Maine, United States. The university was established in 1865 as a land grant college and is referred to as the flagship university of the University of Maine System...
under head coach Eck Allen.
From 1949 through the 1952, Snively was the head football coach at Clarkson University
Clarkson University
-The Clarkson School:The Clarkson School, a special division of Clarkson University, was founded in 1978 as a unique educational opportunity. The School offers students an early entrance opportunity into college, replacing the typical senior year of high school with a year of college...
. When Clarkson discontinued football in 1952, Snively became the school's director of intramural athletics.
In March 1953, Snively was hired by the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
as the line coach for its football team and as the head coach for its lacrosse team. He held those positions for the next 12 years. His lacrosse teams at New Hampshire compiled and 84-43 record and won a national divisional championship and five New England divisional championships. He was also the men's ice hockey coach at New Hampshire from 1962 to 1964.
Death and posthumous honors
In April 1964, Snively died of a heart attack while at a gas station in Durham, New HampshireDurham, New Hampshire
As of the census of 2000, there were 12,664 people, 2,882 households, and 1,582 families residing in the town. The population density was 565.5 people per square mile . There were 2,923 housing units at an average density of 130.5 per square mile...
. He was survived by his wive, Eva (Owen) Snively; a son, A. Barr Snively III, and a daughter, Virginia O. Snively.
In December 1964, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association
United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association
The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of institutions with varsity college lacrosse programs in all three NCAA divisions, founded in 1885.-Awards:...
posthumously voted Snively its Coach of the Year award. Snively's lacrosse teams accumulated 116 victories, including his 85-47 record at New Hampshire. He had also coached lacrosse at Brown, Williams, Clarkson and Maine.
In February 1965, the University of New Hampshire dedicated Snively Arena, named after Coach Snively, to be used by the institution's hockey team and for other athletic events.
The A. Barr "Whoop" Snively Scholarship Fund was established in 1966. It provides scholarship support to a third-year student who has participated in hockey, lacrosse, or football.