William McKnight earned nearly as many
nicknames as he did varsity letters during his four
years as a member of the football, basketball and
baseball teams at Lafayette.
The Philadelphia
native spent three seasons as a back on Coach
"Hook" Mylin's football squad. As a sophomore,
"Billy-boy" played with the undefeated (9-0) 1940
grid squad that closed the season with a
convincing 46-0 triumph over Lehigh. "Weasel"
earned Honorable Mention All-America honors
for his senior season in 1942. "Bruiser" ended his
Lafayette football career on a thrilling note against
Lehigh. With less than a minute to play, the Leopards
moved the ball downfield hoping to break a 7-7
tie. McKnight caught a 37-yard pass from
quarterback Charley Nagle but was thrown out of
bounds just shy of the goal at the Engineers' 3-yard
line. The "Mighty Atom" was injured on the play
and Lafayette's drive stalled on the Lehigh 1-yard
line as time expired.
