Steveo’s Salvos June 2018
It’s been a while since we done a Steveo’s Salvo, but with three months from today to start our season when we venture up to Orono, Maine to see the Maine Black Bears host the New Hampshire Wildcats, we feel it’s appropriate to get rolling into another exciting college football season today. We’re already salivating. As we die-hards college fans say among each other, there’s college football season and waiting for college football season…Regretfully, two sad notes begin this edition of our Salvoes. Two noteworthy head coaches passed away who have historic context in our association with college football. Fellow Juniata alum and great NFL head Coach Chuck Knox passed away on May 12 at the age of 86. He recorded a career NFL head coaching mark of 186-147-1 leading the Rams (twice), Bills, and Seahawks during his illustrious NFL career. He is one of few coaches who led three different franchises to division championships. He earned NFL Coach of the year honors four times and is seated on the Seattle Seahawks Ring of Honor. From a college perspective, he played both offensive and defensive tackle at Juniata College from 1950-1953. As co-captain of the team his senior season, the Indians celebrated their first undefeated season ever. Beyond his playing days, he coached as an assistant before becoming head coach at several Pennsylvania high schools and eventually moved up through college and pro ball as an assistant before his first stint as HC with the Los Angeles Rams. He served on Juniata’s Board of Trustees from 1978-1999. His wife Shirley of 65 years and he granted a $1MM endowment known as the Charles R. and Shirley Knox Chair in History to our alma mater. As trustee, Knox provided support for lighting in the football stadium, the upgrading of the Kennedy Athletic Center, and chaired the campaign to complete the upgrade of the 3,000- seat football stadium named Knox Stadium in his honor in 1988. He was a fiery, smart, well organized coach in pro football who started in the steel mills of Pittsburgh through Juniata to make himself the success that the leaves behind in the annals of pro football…
CFF.com Homecoming: we returned to Knox Stadium at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania for the first time in 35 years.
The other sad note comes from Wesley University, a D-3 school in Dover, Delaware. Their 57-year old HC Mike Drass suddenly passed away May 14 after completing 13 seasons mentoring the Wolverines to a 228-61-1 record. Three times he won D-3 Coach of the year honors. His teams advanced to the D-3 semi-finals six times. We saw his team in action in 2010 in one against Wisconsin -Whitewater, when they fell at home, 27-7. UWW went on to the National Championship. Last season, we saw his team open at Delaware Valley in an opener between No. 12 at No. 7 respectively. His team fell again, 24-19. His OT Matt Gono picked up All-American honors and signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Falcons. Drass kept Wesley in or near The Top Ten of D-3 for many years and produced many outstanding teams and players. He will be missed gravely by the school who just announced his associate head coach and offensive coordinator for the past 13 years, Chip Knapp, as his replacement. Condolences to the Drass family and the Wesley community for this sudden loss. Good luck to HC Chris Knapp and his team in the upcoming season.
Drass’s Wesley Wolverines (in white) in action against Delaware Valley in our 2017 season opener.