Thomas Harp (born c. 1927) is a former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

(1961–1965),

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

(1967–1970), and

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

(1973–1977), compiling a career

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

record of 61–82–4.

Playing career

Harp played football as a fullback at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

in 1945 and then as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Muskingum University Muskingum University is a private university in New Concord, Ohio, United States. Chartered in 1837 as Muskingum College, the institution is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). New Concord is located in far eastern Muskingum County, ...

in 1949 and 1950, where he was a member of back-to-back

Ohio Athletic Conference The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. All member institutions are located in Ohio. Formed in 1902, it is the third oldest athletic conference in the United States ...

championship squads.

Coaching career

Harp began his coaching career in 1951 at Carrollton High School in

Carrollton, Ohio Carrollton is a village in Carroll County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 3,087 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area. History The village was established as "Centreville" ...

, where he compiled a record of 20–6–1 over three seasons. He then moved on to

Massillon Washington High School Washington High School, commonly referred to as Massillon High School or Massillon Washington High School, is a 9th to 12th grade secondary school within the Massillon City School District in the city of Massillon, Ohio. The school colors are ...

Massillon, Ohio Massillon is a city in western Stark County, Ohio, United States, along the Tuscarawas River. The population was 32,146 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Massillon is a principal city of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area, whic ...

, tallying a mark of 18–2 over two seasons and winning the Ohio State title in 1954. From 1956 to 1960, Harp coached the backfield at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

under head coaches

Earl Blaik Earl Henry "Red" Blaik (February 15, 1897 – May 6, 1989) was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and United States Army officer. He served as the head football coach at Dartmouth College from 1934 to 1940 and at ...

and Dale Hall. From 1961 to 1965, Harp coached at Cornell, where he compiled a 19–23–3 record. From 1966 to 1970, he coached at Duke, where he compiled a 22–28–1 record. From 1973 to 1977, he coached at Indiana State, where he compiled a 20–31 record.

Family

Harp is the stepfather of former

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

head coach

Cam Cameron Malcolm "Cam" Cameron (born February 6, 1961) is an American football coach who was most recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the LSU Tigers football program. Cameron attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana an ...

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harp, Tom 1920s births Living people Army Black Knights football coaches Cornell Big Red football coaches Duke Blue Devils football coaches Indiana State Sycamores football coaches Miami RedHawks football players Muskingum Fighting Muskies football players High school football coaches in Ohio Players of American football from Belmont County, Ohio People from Barnesville, Ohio Year of birth missing (living people)