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Pitt recognizes, per listing in its football media guide, 76 different players as having been selected as First Team All-American throughout its history for a total of 92 all-time First Team All-American Selections. That total includes 51 selections which have attained Consensus status per the NCAA official records book.
May 5, 2009 · Dickerson set a Pitt single-season record for a tight end with 10 touchdown catches. He had 49 receptions for 529 yards overall. Dickerson became the first Pitt tight end to earn first-team All-America status since the legendary Mike Ditka was honored in 1960.
Pitt has had 82 different players selected as First Team All-American throughout its history for a total of 98 all-time First Team All-American Selections. That total includes 55 selections which have attained Consensus status.
Since the Pitt Panthers football team played its first season in 1890, at least 133 All-American selections have been bestowed on Pitt football players. 76 Panthers football players have received one or more selections as first-team All-Americans for a total of 92 all-time selections.
- Overview
- History
- Facilities
- Firsts
- Traditions
- Team awards and accomplishments
- Individual awards
- Panthers in the NFL
- See also
Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football competition. Pitt has competed as a member of the Big East Conference since 1991, but has accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Pitt has claimed nine National Championships, and is among the top 20 college football programs in terms of all-time wins. Its teams have featured many coaches and players notable throughout the history of college football, including, among all schools, the eleventh most College Football Hall of Fame inductees, the eighth most consensus All-Americans, and the third most Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees. The Panthers are currently coached by Paul Chryst. Pitt plays home games at Heinz Field which they share with the National Football League Pittsburgh Steelers and utilize the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Performance Complex as their practice facility.
The early years (1889–1902)
Football at the University of Pittsburgh began in the fall of 1889 when the school was still known as the Western University of Pennsylvania, often referred to as WUP, and was located in what was then known as Allegheny City and is today the city of Pittsburgh's North Side. A 130 pound WUP student, Bert Smyers, along with senior student John Scott, assembled a football team that year composed of only three players who had previously witnessed the sport. The team played in one informal game, a loss against Shady Side Academy, in which Smyers made himself quarterback and Scott played center. In preparation for the following year, the first season of football officially recognized by the university, Smyers and his teammates took up a collection and purchased a football for practices and games; players were responsible for their own uniforms. In Smyers' case, his uniform was pieced together by his mother and sister. The first official game for the university was played on October 11, 1890, when the Allegheny Athletic Association's opponent, Shadyside Academy, failed to appear for its game at Exposition Park. Allegheny A.A. called Smyers who brought the WUP team as a replacement. In an inglorious start to Pitt football history, WUP was defeated 38-0. Smyers' team next faced Washington and Jefferson College, losing 32-0, but closed out its inaugural three game season with the university's first win, a 10-4 victory over Geneva College. The following season saw the university collect more losses en route to a 2-5 record. Smyers suffered a broken nose in a 40-6 loss to Washington and Jefferson, a school that would become one of WUP's fiercest early rivals. The WUP team did record the school's first shutout with a 6-0 win over Geneva, as well as the school's first blowout in a 54-0 win over Western Pennsylvania Medical College who, interestingly, became affiliated with WUP in 1892 and later became the university's medical school when they merged in 1908. Perhaps the most important development for the second season of football was Smyers recruitment of Joseph Trees from Normal University of Pennsylvania. The 210 pound Trees became WUP's first subsidized athlete and, later in life, made millions in the oil industry and became an important benefactor for the university and athletic department. Today, Trees Hall, an athletic facility on the University of Pittsburgh's main campus in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh, bears his name. The first winning record for the university came in the third season of competition in 1892, when the team posted a 4-2 record. The following season in 1893, the team had its first official coach, Anson F. Harrold, who led the team to an unremarkable 1-4 record. However, during that season the first contest was played in what would become a 96-game series versus Penn State, thus originating one of the longest and fiercest rivalries for both schools. In 1895, the school suffered a 1-6 season under coach J.P. Linn. The 1895 season was notable for the first edition of the Backyard Brawl on October 26, 1895, with WUP losing to West Virginia 0-8 in Wheeling, WV. The university did not see another winning season until Fred Robinson led WUP to a 5-2-1 record in 1898. In 1899, Robinson continued his success with a 3-1-1 record, giving the school its first back-to-back winning seasons. This was followed by two more consecutive winning seasons, including a record seven-win season in 1901 under coach Wilbur Hockensmith. That season, Hockensmith led the school to its first victory over West Virginia, a 12-0 shutout in Morgantown on October 5, 1901.
Rise to power (1903–1914)
In the early years of the 20th century, interest in college football grew both in Pittsburgh and throughout the nation. In 1903, Arthur St. Leger "Texas" Mosse was hired away from the University of Kansas, and brought several of his players with him. Other players were recruited from surrounding Western Pennsylvania colleges, including star half back Joseph H. Thompson. The 1903 season, the first under Mosse, was the university's first winless season at 0-9-1.[n 1] In perhaps one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history, Mosse led WUP to an undefeated 10-0 season, the school's first, in 1904. The 1904 team surrendered only one touchdown on the way to collectively outscoring opponents 406-5. That season also saw the school's first victory over Penn State, a 22-5 rout, as well as a 53-0 shutout of West Virginia.[n 2] The success of this period can be partially attributed to actions taken by the university's administration, led by newly installed chancellor Samuel McCormick who took special interest in athletics at the university. Encouraged by university trustee George Hubberd Clapp, the administration more actively engaged in supporting the athletic program during this period in order to promote the university. A football association was formed, the school's first booster organization, whose largest initial contributor was Andrew W. Mellon. The university also obtained a lease of Exposition Park to give the football team a more stable and permanent home, and its first full season at the park began with the 1904 undefeated team. This undefeated 1904 season was followed by a 10-2 record under Mosse in 1905, as well as six additional winning seasons. These Mosse coached squads featured team captain Joe Thompson, who was recruited from Geneva College to play for WUP from 1904 to 1906. During Thompson's playing years, the team compiled a 26-6 record. Thompson graduated from the university in 1905 and continued on with post-graduate work in the School of Law completing his law degree. However, Thompson had long desired the head coaching position and finally obtained the job in 1909, after successful coach John A. Moorehead, who helped facilitate the first known use of numbers on the uniforms of football players in 1908,[n 3] left coaching to pursue his family's business interests. That same year, the university changed its name from Western University of Pennsylvania to the University of Pittsburgh, and it soon became known as "Pitt" among fans and students. The following year, in 1909, the school officially adopted the Panther as a mascot. Also in 1909, the school moved to the Oakland section of Pittsburgh where it remains to this day, and the football team began playing games at Forbes Field, starting with the third game of the season against Bucknell on October 16, 1909. Thompson coached at Pitt until 1912, the longest tenure of any coach to that point, and led the football team to a 22-11-2 record. The highlight of his coaching tenure was the 1910 season in which Pitt, led by star fullback Tex Richards, went undefeated for the second time in school history. Of even greater significance, the 1910 team was unscored upon, collectively outscoring its 9 opponents 282-0, and is considered by many to be that season's national champion. Following his coaching stint, Thompson went on to become a highly decorated hero of World War I. Winning continued under coach Joseph Duff, including an 8-1 record in 1914 in which opponents were collectively outscored 207-38, and the university was well on the way to establishing itself as a regional, if not yet national, power.
Pop Warner years (1915–1923)
In 1914, Pitt athletic booster Joseph Trees and athletic director A. R. Hamilton hired Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner as Pitt's head coach. Warner, who had previously led Carlisle, Cornell, and Georgia, had been successful at his previous stops, mentoring the likes of Jim Thorpe, and was known as an innovator of the game who originated the screen pass, single- and double-wing formations, and use of shoulder and thigh pads. His arrival at Pitt gave the program instant national credibility, lifting the perception of the program from a regional power to that of a national one. Warner's impact was immediate. Led by center Robert Peck, Pitt's first First Team All-American, and All-American end James Pat Herron, Warner's first Pitt team in 1915 went 8-0, shutting out five opponents, and was trumpeted by football historian Parke H. Davis as that season's national champion. His second season duplicated that success, repeating an 8-0 record while collectively outscoring opponents 255-25, and garnering what is widely regarded as a consensus national championship. The lone scare of the 1916 season occurred at Navy when, following a delay of the team's train heading to Annapolis that caused a late arrival, the team overcame several fumbles and eked out a 20-19 victory. The 1916 team was led again by Herron and Peck, now in his last season, as well as All-Americans fullback Andy Hastings and guard "Tiny" Thornhill. Also on that team were Jock Sutherland and H.C. "Doc" Carlson, who both would garner First Team All-American selections while members of the undefeated 1917 team, and go on to become perhaps Pitt's most legendary coaches in football and basketball, respectively. The 1917 team, nicknamed "The Fighting Dentists" because over half the roster became doctors or dentists, finished 10-0 with five shutouts despite losing several players to military service at the outbreak of World War I. The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, which took the life of former Pitt star Tex Richards, saw the implementation of quarantines that eliminated much of that year's college football season, including five of Pitt's originally scheduled contests. All of Pitt's games that year were played in November, including a high profile game played as a War Charities benefit against undefeated, unscored upon, and defending national champion Georgia Tech, coached by the legendary John Heisman. Pitt swept through its first three games and then dismantled Georgia Tech 32-0 in front of many of the nation's top sports writers including Walter Camp. The final game of the season at Cleveland Naval Reserve resulted in Warner's first loss at Pitt and is one of the most controversial in school history. Warner, along with some reporters covering the game, insisted Pitt was robbed by the officials who, claiming the official timekeeper's watch was broken, arbitrarily ended the first half before Pitt was able to score and then allowed the Reserves extra time in the fourth quarter to pull ahead 10-9 before calling an end to the game. Despite the loss, the 4-1 Panthers of 1918 were named national champions by several selectors and are widely regarded as consensus national champions for that season. In 1919, several players suffered season-ending injuries, and Pitt stumbled to a 6-2-1 record that included another victory over Georgia Tech. The Panthers returned to undefeated status during 1920, albeit with ties against Syracuse and undefeated Penn State. The Penn State game ended in a scoreless tie after Pitt star Tommy Davies, who was injured early in the game, returned later to miss a possible game-winning field goal. For the 1921 season, the team's record dipped to 5-3-1, but Pitt made college football history on October 8, 1921. Harold W. Arlin announced the first live radio broadcast of a college football game in the United States from Forbes Field on KDKA radio as the Pitt Panthers defeated West Virginia 21-13 in the annual Backyard Brawl. Prior to the 1922 season, Warner announced he was leaving Pitt to take the head coaching position at Stanford, but he honored his contract and remained at Pitt through 1923. 1922 resulted in an 8-2 record, and the season ended on a high note when the Panthers took their first cross-country trip, by train, to defeat Stanford, coached by two Pitt assistants sent ahead by Warner, 16-7 in Palo Alto. Warner's final season was his worst at Pitt as the Panthers stumbled to a 5-4 record in 1923. However, the Warner era at Pitt closed on a high note with a 20-3 victory over Penn State on November 29. In all, Warner coached his Pitt teams to 33 straight wins and three national championships (1915, 1916 and 1918). He coached Pittsburgh from 1915 to 1923 to a combined 60-12-4 record. Importantly, Warner helped raise the interest in Pitt football to the point where the university sought to build an on-campus stadium with increased seating capacity that would be dedicated to the football team, and the school began taking steps to secure the necessary land and funds to build Pitt Stadium.
The team first played at Recreation Park. Beginning in 1900, the Panthers played their games at Exposition Park on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, sharing the stadium with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In 1909 the Panthers, along with the Pirates, moved to Forbes Field, located on campus, where they played until 1924. In 1925, Pitt Stadium was completed on the opposite end of the campus, giving the Panthers their first and only private stadium. Pitt Stadium was home for the Panthers although the Steelers also used it for home games in the mid-1960s. Following the demolition of Pitt Stadium in 1999, the Panthers moved to Three Rivers Stadium, again on the North Shore, where the Pirates and Steelers had played since 1970. A handful of nationally televised Pitt Panther football games from the late 1970s to 1999 were played as home games not at Pitt Stadium but at Three Rivers with its more modern facilities.
Pitt football has been involved in several notable first-time occurrences in the history of college football, including:
•First known use of numbers on the uniforms of football players was instituted by Pitt in 1908 during the coaching tenure of John Moorehead.[n 3]
•First live radio broadcast of a college football game in the United States when Harold W. Arlin announced the 21-13 Pitt victory in the Backyard Brawl over West Virginia at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh on KDKA on October 8, 1921.
•First nation-wide television broadcast of a live sporting event, a football game against Duke at Pitt Stadium, was televised coast-to-coast by NBC on September 29, 1951.
•First African-American player, Bobby Grier, to break the bowl game color barrier in the segregated, southeastern Deep South during the 1956 Sugar Bowl.
•First college football player, Tony Dorsett, at any level to rush for over 6,000 yards in a career.
The Panther (Felis concolor) was adopted by the University as its official athletic mascot by a group of students and alumni in 1909. The suggestion to adopt the Panther as mascot was made by George M. P. Baird, Class of 1909. Over 20 representations of panthers can be found in and around the university's campus and athletic facilities, including outside Heinz Field. Students, alumni, and fans rub the nose of one Panther statue in particular, the Millennium Panther located outside the William Pitt Union, in order to bring good luck to the football team prior to games. This tradition was featured in a national television advertisement for the 2012 Hyundai Tucson automobile.[100] In addition, a costumed mascot, named "Roc", performs with the Pitt Cheerleaders at various athletic and non-athletic university events.
Among the oldest traditions is the Official University Yell, dating to 1890, that has survived as lyrics within the fight song "Hail to Pitt". This song, along with the Pitt Victory Song, and The Panther Song, are the most common of Pitt fight songs performed on game days by the Pitt Band. The Pitt Band also participates in the "Panthers Prowl" which begins two hours before kickoff and allows fans to meet the team as they make their way into Heinz Field outside Gate A. Originally, this tradition began as players made their way into Pitt Stadium.[101][102] One hour prior to kick off, the Pitt Band also engages in the "March to Victory" from Tony Dorsett Drive down General Robinson Street and ending at the stage on Art Rooney Avenue. This tradition dates back to before the move to Heinz Field when the Pitt Band would march throughout the streets of Oakland campus before arriving at Pitt Stadium.[101][102] In addition, at halftime, the band typically will play in at least one formation spelling out "PITT". Other football traditions include:
•A giant inflatable football helmet is set up on the lawn of the William Pitt Union during the week prior to football home games. Typically, information or other freebees are distributed around the helmet prior to the day of the game.[103]
•A 50-yard long Hail to Pitt Flag is carried by 100 students, selected for each home football game, onto the field during pre-game ceremonies.[103]
•Student organizations, carrying standards, form a tunnel for the football players to run through as they enter the football field from the locker room. Originally, this long standing tradition involved only Pitt fraternities and sororities. The tradition was briefly lost following the 1999 season when Pitt's football program transitioned from playing in Pitt Stadium to Three Rivers Stadium in 2000 followed by Heinz Field in 2001. The tradition was resurrected beginning with the 2008 football season.[104]
•Following touchdowns, the horns of the Gateway Clipper riverboat fleet, which cruises just outside Heinz Field, sound.
National Championships Undefeated seasons
Pitt has had eight undefeated seasons. Six of the eight seasons are perfect seasons with no ties. Of the eight undefeated seasons, four are not claimed as national championship seasons by Pitt. Pitt football finished the season undefeated in: 1904 (10–0) • 1910 (9–0) • 1915 (8–0) • 1916 (8–0) • 1917 (10–0) • 1920 (6–0–2) • 1937 (9–0–1) • 1976 (12–0)
One-loss seasons
Pitt also has had 17 one-loss seasons: 1894 • 1899 • 1914 • 1918 • 1925 • 1927 • 1929 • 1931 • 1932 • 1933 • 1934 • 1935 • 1936 • 1963 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981
Eastern and Conference Titles
For much of its history, Pitt played as an independent, as did the majority of what are now labeled as Division I FBS football-playing schools located in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. During this time, Eastern Championships were named by independent third party selectors and awarded of various trophies, such as the early Jolly Trophy awarded by the Philadelphia-based Veteran Athletic Organization which presented it to the team with the best record in the East.[120] The process of picking an Eastern Champion eventually came to be symbolized by the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy awarded by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority beginning in 1936. The Lambert-Meadowlands trophy, which is still awarded, is presented to the team deemed to be the best that located in the East or plays half its schedule against eligible Lambert teams. In total, Pitt has won 12 Eastern Championships. In addition, in 1991, the majority of football independents in the East aligned themselves together in the Big East Football Conference. Round-robin play began in the Big East beginning in 1993, although a championship was awarded during its first two years.[121]
Retired jerseys
Pitt has retired 8 jerseys of former outstanding football players •#13 Dan Marino, Quarterback, 1979–1982 •#33 Tony Dorsett, Running Back, 1973–1976 •#42 Marshall Goldberg, Running Back, 1936–1938 •#65 Joe Schmidt, Linebacker, 1950–1952 •#73 Mark May, Offensive Tackle, 1977–1980 •#79 Bill Fralic, Offensive Tackle, 1981–1984 •#89 Mike Ditka, End, 1958–1960 •#99 Hugh Green, Defensive End, 1977–1980
Major award winners
•Heisman Trophy Tony Dorsett (1976) •Maxwell Award Tony Dorsett (1976) Hugh Green (1980) •Walter Camp Award Tony Dorsett (1976) Hugh Green (1980) Larry Fitzgerald (2003) •Lombardi Award Hugh Green (1980) •Outland Trophy Mark May (1980) •Biletnikoff Award Antonio Bryant (2000) Larry Fitzgerald (2003) •Walter Camp Coach of the Year Johnny Majors (1973) Jackie Sherrill (1981) •AFCA Coach of the Year Johnny Majors (1976) •Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
College Football Hall of Fame inductees
24 total former players or coaches have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Pitt has produced 289 NFL players, many of them among the famous players in professional football history. Furthermore, in a survey of NFL drafts from 1979 to 2009, ESPN rated Pitt third, behind only USC and Miami, for having "the most fertile NFL draft pipelines."[128] Some former Pitt players that have left their mark on the NFL include Ruben Bro...
•List of Pittsburgh Panthers head football coaches
Jan 8, 2021 · A total of 29 players were named to the 2020 Consensus All-America Team as they received the most first-team selections at their respective positions. A minimum of two first-team honors are needed to earn consensus All-America status. Jones (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield) was named a first team All-American by Sporting News and Walter Camp. He was ...
Dec 12, 2022 · Calijah Kancey continues to rack up awards that put him among Pitt football legends. On Monday, the Associated Press named Kancey to its first-team All America list alongside Georgia...
