Thomas Reap Explained

Thomas Reap
Death Date: (aged 40)
Death Place:Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Player Years1:1912–1915
Player Team1:Villanova
Player Positions:Tackle
Coach Years1:1917–1920
Coach Team1:Villanova
Coach Years2:1921–?
Coach Team2:Dickinson (line)
Overall Record:9–13–4

Thomas M. Reap (– February 9, 1935) was an American lawyer and college football coach. He served as the head coach at Villanova College—now known as Villanova University—from 1917 to 1920, during which time he compiled a record of 9–13–4.

Reap attended Villanova College (now Villanova University), and from 1912 to 1915,[1] played on the football team as a tackle. According to the 1915 edition of Spalding's Official Foot Ball Guide, he was one of "the main factors in Villanova's defense."[2]

In 1917, Reap assumed the head coaching position at his alma mater, a post he held for four seasons. During his tenure, he amassed a 9–13–4 record.[3] In 1921, he enrolled in the law school at Dickinson College, where he also served as the line coach for the football team.[4] [5]

In the late 1920s, he was practicing law in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania,[6] and was a "prominent Philadelphia lawyer". Reap died in a Scranton, Pennsylvania, hospital while undergoing unspecified treatment on February 9, 1935, at the age of 40.[7] His brother and former Villanova teammate, Jim Reap, served as a Lackawanna County sheriff.[7]

Notes and References

  1. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nova/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/112-138--History.pdf Past Performers 1894–2001
  2. https://books.google.com/books?id=omLzAAAAMAAJ Spalding's Official Foot Ball Guide 1915
  3. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nova/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/112-138--History.pdf Game-by-Game History
  4. https://archive.org/stream/villanovan1921_p2#page/n35/mode/2up The Villanovan
  5. Wilbur J. Gobrecht, The History of Football at Dickinson College, 1885-1969, p. 127, Kerr Print. Co., 1971.
  6. https://books.google.com/books?id=oFGTAAAAIAAJ Montgomery County Law Reporter, Volume 43
  7. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LHAhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FIgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5478,5858926&dq=reap+villanova&hl=en FORMER VILLANOVA GRID COACH PASSES AWAY