Don Heap

Donald Eugene Heap (September 28, 1912 – March 21, 2016)[1] was an American football and baseball player and coach. He was twice selected as an All-American football player while playing for the Northwestern Wildcats football team.

This article is about the American football and baseball player and coach. For the Canadian Anglican priest, see Dan Heap.
Don Heap
Biographical details
BornSeptember 28, 1912
Evanston, Illinois
DiedMarch 21, 2016(2016-03-21) (aged 103)
Playing career
Football
1936–1938Northwestern
Position(s)Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1939–1941Illinois Wesleyan
1942Iowa Pre-Flight (assistant)
1946Northwestern (freshmen)
Baseball
1941Illinois Wesleyan
1946Northwestern (assistant)
1947–1948Northwestern
Head coaching record
Overall13–10–2 (football)
28–26–1 (baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
2 ICC (1939–1940)

Early years

Heap was born in 1912 in Evanston, Illinois, the son of Frank Heap and Rosella (Van Geem) Heap.[2] He attended Evanston Township High School, where he played football, basketball, and baseball,[3] and graduated in 1930.[4]

Northwestern

Heap subsequently enrolled at Northwestern University in Evanston, where he played football and basketball,[5] and was a member of Phi Delta Theta.[6] He played at the halfback position for the Northwestern Wildcats football team from 1936 to 1938. As a sophomore, he was selected by the Central Press Association as a first-team halfback on the 1936 College Football All-America Team.[7] As a senior, he served as the captain of Northwestern's football team, was named its most valuable player and was selected by Paramount News to the 1938 College Football All-America Team.[8] In his three years at Northwestern, Heap was a triple-threat player, handling kicking, passing and rushing responsibilities and calling signals for the team. He averaged more than five yards per carry. Northwestern coach Pappy Waldorf said that Heap had one of the best football minds he had encountered.[8]

Coaching career

After graduating from Northwestern, Heap was hired as the head football and baseball coach at Illinois Wesleyan University, where he served for three years. His teams won two Illinois College Conference championships.[9]

During World War II, Heap served in the United States Navy, attaining the rank of lieutenant commander. His naval service included one year as an assistant coach for the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football team at the University of Iowa. He also served at a naval aviation base in Devonshire, England.[9]

In 1946, after his discharge from the Navy, Heap was hired by Northwestern University as its freshman football coach and assistant baseball coach.[9] In 1947, Heap became head baseball coach at Northwestern and continued his position with the football team.[10] Heap served two seasons as head baseball coach, compiling a 21–25–1 record from 1947 to 1948.

Head coaching record

Football
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Illinois Wesleyan Titans (Illinois College Conference) (1939–1941)
1939 Illinois Wesleyan 4–42–01st
1940 Illinois Wesleyan 7–13–0T–1st
1941 Illinois Wesleyan 2–5–20–2–1T–8th
Illinois Wesleyan: 13–10–25–2–1
Total:13–10–2
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
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References
  1. "Donald E. Heap". Donnellan Family Funeral Services. 2016. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  2. Birth record for Donald Eugene Heap. Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, Birth Certificates Index, 1871-1922 [database on-line].
  3. 1930 Evanston Township High School yearbook (Evanstonian), pages 15 (football), 16 (basketball) and 19 (baseball).
  4. Donald Eugene Heap, member of the Class of 1930, as reflected in the 1930 Evanston Township High School yearbook (Evanstonian), at page 67.
  5. 1937 Northwestern University yearbook (Syllabus), pp. 154 (football), 166 (basketball), p. 240 (Class of 1938).
  6. 1938 Northwestern University yearbook, p. 202.
  7. Bill Braucher (December 5, 1936). "YANKEE TEAMS STEP OUT IN ALL-STAR VOTING: Playing Captains Pick Top Warriors". Post-Herald. West Virginia.
  8. 1939 Northwestern University yearbook, p. 163 (profile of Heap).
  9. "Don Heap Joins Northwestern Athletic Staff". Chicago Tribune. February 27, 1946. p. 21.
  10. "Don Heap Named Northwestern Baseball Coach". Chicago Tribune. February 6, 1947. p. 31.
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