High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Thomas J. "Tom" Thorp (c. 1882 - July 6, 1942) was an American football player and coach, sports writer, and football and horse racing official. He was the head coach for the Fordham University Rams (1912–13) and New York University Violets (1922–24) football teams. He compiled an overall record of 21–17–4.