Otto Kneidinger
Otto Louis Kneidinger Jr. (May 17, 1933 – May 22, 2001) was an American football player and coach.[1] He served as the head football coach at West Chester University of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1983, compiling a record of 30–21–1. Following his collegiate career at Pennsylvania State University, he was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1955 NFL Draft.[2]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 17, 1933 Altoona, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 22, 2001 (aged 68) Altoona, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1951–1955 | Penn State |
| Position(s) | Tackle |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1956–1957 | Tyrone Area HS (PA) (assistant) |
| 1958–1962 | York Suburban HS (PA) |
| 1963 | Meadville HS (PA) |
| 1964–1970 | Lafayette (assistant) |
| 1971–1978 | Penn (DC) |
| 1979–1983 | West Chester |
| 1984–1989 | Rutgers (DC/OLB) |
| 1990–1996 | Delaware (LB) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 30–21–1 (college) 35–12–1 (high school) |
Coaching career
Kneidinger began his coaching career in 1956 as an assistant at Tyrone Area High School in Tyrone, Pennsylvania. Two years later, he became the head football coach at York Suburban Senior High School in Spring Garden Township, York County, Pennsylvania, where he led his teams to a record of 32–6–1 in five seasons, from 1958 to 1962. His 1961 and 1962 teams both went undefeated and won Laurel Conference titles. Kneidinger was the head football coach at Meadville Area Senior High School in Meadville, Pennsylvania, for one season, in 1963, tallying a mark of 3–6.
In 1964, Kneidinger was hired as freshman football coach at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.[3] He remained an assistant at Lafayette until moving to the University of Pennsylvania in 1971 when Harry Gamble was hired as head coach for the Penn Quakers. Kneidinger served as Penn's defensive coordinator for eight seasons under Gamble before he was hired as the head football coach at West Chester University of Pennsylvania in 1979.[4][5]
Kneidinger left West Chester in 1984 to become the defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach at Rutgers University.[6][7]
Death
Kneidinger died from cancer-related causes, on May 22, 2001, in Altoona, Pennsylvania.[8][9]
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Chester Golden Rams (NCAA Division II independent) (1979–1981) | |||||||||
| 1979 | West Chester | 4–7 | |||||||
| 1980 | West Chester | 5–4 | |||||||
| 1981 | West Chester | 8–3 | |||||||
| West Chester Golden Rams (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) (1982–1983) | |||||||||
| 1982 | West Chester | 6–4 | 4–1 | 2nd (East) | |||||
| 1983 | West Chester | 7–3 | 2–3 | 5th (East) | |||||
| West Chester: | 30–21–1 | 6–4 | |||||||
| Total: | 30–21–1 | ||||||||
References
- "Otto Kneidinger". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
- "1955 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
- "Otto Kneidinger New Freshman Grid Coach At Lafayette". The Gazette and Daily. York, Pennsylvania. July 3, 1964. p. 24. Retrieved May 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com
. - "Kneidinger new W. Chester coach". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. February 21, 1979. p. 6D. Retrieved May 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- "West Chester Hires Kneidinger". Centre Daily Times. State College, Pennsylvania. February 21, 1979. p. 32. Retrieved May 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- Dellapina, John (March 14, 1984). "Ex-Trojan joins Rutgers staff". York Daily Record. York, Pennsylvania. p. 1C. Retrieved May 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- Dellapina, John (March 14, 1984). "Rutgers (continued)". York Daily Record. York, Pennsylvania. p. 4C. Retrieved May 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- Martin, Jeffrey (May 23, 2001). "Suburban's first football coach dies". The York Dispatch. York, Pennsylvania. p. B1. Retrieved May 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
- Martin, Jeffrey (May 23, 2001). "Ex-Suburban coach dies (continued)". The York Dispatch. York, Pennsylvania. p. B2. Retrieved May 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .