The 1959 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh as an independent during the 1959 college football season. The team compiled a 6–4 record under head coach John Michelosen. The team played their home games at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh.
Schedule
Preseason
The University of Pittsburgh, under the direction of Chancellor Edward Litchfield, bought Forbes Field in 1958, and agreed to lease it to the Pirates until a new stadium was constructed. On January 12, 1959, The Pittsburgh Press reported that the City Council asked the Public Auditorium Authority to prepare a plan for a new municipal sports stadium. A citizen's committee proposed the stadium be built on Monument Hill on the North Side. The cost of the land and stadium was estimated to be 23 million dollars. Pitt athletic director Tom Hamilton countered that the city should upgrade Pitt Stadium instead of building a new facility. He wanted to save the city money and keep the stadium on campus. Dr. Litchfield was in favor of the municipal stadium. Hamilton did not want the Steelers to play in Pitt Stadium, Dr. Litchfield did. Hamilton did not want Litchfield to implement the trimester plan. Hamilton and the rest of the athletic department felt it would put Pitt at a disadvantage athletically. The trimester plan was implemented. Tom Hamilton resigned as athletic director effective August 31, 1959. He became the commissioner of the newly formed Athletic Association of Western Universities. Frank Carver, long time Pitt graduate manager, was appointed acting athletic director.
On March 14, two expelled players (fullback Marty Barraca and center Mike Lucci) and two withdrawals (letterwinner quarterback Ed Sharockman and fullback Pat Morsillo) headed south to spend the spring and summer in Florida. They thought they could pursue their football careers elsewhere. A week later tackle Len Vella withdrew from classes due to academic problems.
Coach John Michelosen welcomed 65 candidates, including 17 lettermen, for his fifth year of spring practice. The Panthers were allowed 20 practice sessions to be completed in 30 days. Since the withdrawal of Ed Sharockman, finding a back-up quarterback was Coach Michelosen's main priority. The drills concluded on May 2 with the annual intra-squad game at the Pitt-Wildwood Club field. A crowd of 2,000 fans watched the Whites defeat the Blues 26–20.
On August 24, sixty-four gridders showed up for fall practice. Two-a-day sessions (9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.) were held until the start of school on September 8. Coach Michelosen was surprised by the excellent condition of his players. He told the Post-Gazette: “Notice there isn't much fat on this squad? Only one or two of them seem to have any excess weight, and most of them are down to playing weight already. Of course, it won't take long to get the other few trimmed down, too, if the weather continues.” Tackles Bill Lindner and Ken Montanari were named co-captains for the 1959 season.
Game summaries
at Marquette
On September 19, the Panthers opened their season in Milwaukee, WI against the Marquette Warriors. The Panthers led the all-time series 2–0, but this was their first trip to Marquette Stadium. The Warriors were coached by Lisle Blackbourn. He coached Marquette from 1950-1953 to a record of 18–17–4 then jumped to the pros to coach the Green Bay Packers from 1954-1957. He coached the 1958 season at Carroll College before returning to Marquette. The Warriors record the three previous years was 2–25–1, but they had 25 lettermen returning.
Coach Michelosen told The Pitt News: “The kids are in pretty good shape physically. Mentally it's hard to say, this is the first time we have opened the season after classes started. I don't know how this will affect the boys mentally. There are many factors that enter into the boys (sic) life that we don't have to contend with when there are no classes.”
In front of 15,175 fans, the Pitt Panthers needed a fourth quarter comeback to beat the Marquette Warriors 21–15. After a scoreless first half, 25 points were scored in the third period. Pitt took the kick-off and drove 60 yards in 5 plays. Mike Ditka caught a 25-yard Ivan Toncic pass for the touchdown. Norton Seaman's extra point went wide-left. Marquette tied the game on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Pete Hall to Larry Hubbard. Pitt center Foge Fazio blocked the extra point. Marquette regained possession, but Pitt defensive back Jim Cunningham intercepted an errant Hall pass and ran 54-yards for a touchdown. Seaman made the placement to put Pitt ahead 13–6. Marquette came right back and scored on a 5-yard keeper play by Hall. Fred Riddle blocked the extra point and Pitt led 13–12 going into the fourth quarter. Marquette marched to the Panthers 2-yard line but turned the ball over on downs. Pitt halfback Joe Scisly fumbled the ball back to the Warriors. The Pitt defense held, but Jim Webster kicked a 17-yard field goal to put Marquette ahead 15–13. The Panthers offense was ineffective and forced to punt. Then the Pitt defense forced Marquette into a punting situation from the warriors 31-yard line. Ditka broke through the line and blocked Hall's punt. Hall recovered but Ditka tackled him on the 6-yard line – first and goal for the Panthers. On second down, Toncic passed to Ditka for the go-ahead touchdown. The Panthers faked a placement and Toncic passed to John Yaccino for the two-point conversion. Pitt led 21–15. The Marquette offense drove to the Panthers 13-yard line before they lost the ball on downs. Pitt then ran out the clock.
Marquette won the statistical battle. They made 25 first downs, gained 119 yards rushing and 273 yards passing. Pete Hall completed 22 of 43 passes (1 touchdown and 1 interception). Larry Hubbard caught 11 passes for 132 yards (1 touchdown). Si Woods caught 5 passes for 87 yards. Pitt made 9 first downs, gained 175 yards rushing and gained another 54 yards passing by Ivan Toncic completing 7 of 15 passes. (2 for touchdowns and 1 interception). Mike Ditka caught 3 passes for 37 yards (2 touchdowns).
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against Marquette was Mike Ditka (left end), Ken Montanari (left tackle), Norton Seaman (left guard), Serafino Fazio (center), Bob Longfellow (right guard), Dick Mills (right tackle), Ron Delfine (right end), Ivan Toncic (quarterback), Andy Sepsi (left halfback), Joe Scisly (right halfback) and Jim Cunningham (fullback). Substitutes appearing in the game for Pitt were Steve Jastrzembski, Joe Latvis, Charles Marranca, Regis Coustiliac, Andrew Kuzneski, John Holzbach, Larry Vignali, Dennis Dvorchak, Ernie Westwood, David Walker, David Kraus, John Sakal, Ray Tarasi, Fred Cox, Chuck Reinhold, Bob Clemens, Curt Plowman, John Yaccino, Fred Riddle and Michael Frasca.
at USC
On September 24, the Panthers second road trip was a cross-country flight to Los Angeles to play the Southern Cal Trojans on Friday night in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Panthers flew in a TWA jet. (Supposedly, the first team to fly by jet to a sporting event.) The all-time series was tied at 3–3.
Coach Don Clark's Trojans beat Oregon State in their opening game and were ranked #11 in the weekly AP football poll. His line-up contained All-American candidates: Mike McKeever, Marlin McKeever, Ron Mix, and Willie Wood.
In front of only 34,172 fans, the USC Trojans dominated the Pitt Panthers 23–0. USC took the opening kick-off and drove to the Panthers 15-yard line. The Panthers defense held and Trojan quarterback Willie Wood booted a 31-yard field goal. Later in the quarter Mike Ditka shanked a punt, and USC returned it to the Pitt 30-yard line. Five plays later, the Panthers defense held on a fourth and 1 at the goal line, but they were offsides. Jim Conroy scored on the next play, and Wood added the extra point for a 10–0 USC lead. Willie Wood was injured on a tackle in the second quarter, and the USC offense was held in check. After halftime, Wood was replaced by Ben Charles (from Lancaster, PA). USC gained possession on the 50-yard line and Charles threw a pass to Jim Maples for a touchdown. Maples missed the extra point. The Trojans regained possession when Maples intercepted a Pete Prince pass, and returned it to the Pitt 15-yard line. Two offside calls moved the ball to the 5-yard line. Then Maples scored through the left side, and Don Sachik's placement finished the scoring. In the final quarter, USC running back Angelo Coia ran 47 yards for a touchdown that was called back for holding.
The Panthers were held to 27 yards rushing by the Trojans defense. This was the lowest total during Michelosen's reign. They gained 95 yards through the air. Both teams made 9 first downs. USC had 158 yards rushing and 118 yards passing. Pitt was penalized 53 yards, while USC was penalized 130 yards.
The Pitt starting lineup for the game against USC was Mike Ditka (left end), Ken Montanari (left tackle), Paul Hodge (left guard), Andrew Kuzneski (center), Larry Vignali (right guard), Ed Fornadel (right tackle), John Kuprok (right end), David Kraus (quarterback), Andy Sepsi (left halfback), Curt Plowman (right halfback) and Jim Cunningham (fullback). Substitutes appearing in the game for Pitt were Steve Jastrzembski, Heywood Haser, Ernie Westwood, Norton Seaman, Serafino Fazio, Bob Longfellow, Bill Lindner, Dick Mills, David Walker, Ron Delfine, Bob Rathi, Ivan Toncic, Pete Prince, Ray Tarasi, Fred Cox, Chuck Reinhold, Bob Clemens, John Yaccino, Joe Scisly, Fred Riddle and Michael Frasca.
UCLA
On October 3, the Panthers played their home opener against the UCLA Bruins. Second-year coach Bill Barnes' Bruins tied Purdue (0–0) in their first game. This was UCLA's first trip to Pittsburgh. Pitt led the series 1–0 after beating UCLA 27–6 in Los Angeles in 1958.
For the second time in three games, the Panthers needed a fourth quarter comeback to win 25–21. After a scoreless first quarter, UCLA quarterback Bill Kilmer connected with Marv Lester on a 26-yard touchdown pass early in the second period. Later in the quarter, halfback Gene Gaines threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Lester. Ivory Jones made both placements and UCLA led 14–0 at halftime. The Panthers offense was ineffective in the first half, as they fumbled 3 times and threw two interceptions. Pitt took the second half kick-off and drove 65-yards in 14 plays for their first score. On a fourth-down play, Ivan Toncic passed 9-yards to Ron Delfine for the touchdown. Toncic's two-point attempt failed. The Bruins answered with a 77-yard drive in 9 plays to start the final period. Fullback Ray Smith plunged over from the 1-yard line and Jones kicked the extra point for a 21–6 UCLA lead. Then the Pitt offense decided to play. Pitt drove to the UCLA 26-yard line. Toncic was sacked for a 12-yard loss. Then he completed a 28-yard throw to Fred Cox on the 10-yard line. On third down from the 8-yard line, Toncic hit Cox in the left corner of the end zone. The 2-point conversion failed and Pitt trailed 21–12. Five minutes and forty-one seconds remained. The Pitt defense stiffened and UCLA chose to punt on third down giving Pitt possession on the UCLA 49-yard line. On second down, Toncic threw a 49-yard touchdown pass to Mike Ditka. Toncic's pass for the conversion fell incomplete, and Pitt trailed 21–18. The Pitt defense forced another punt, and took possession on their own 36-yard line with 1 minute and 56 seconds to play. On third down Toncic scrambled and completed a 47-yard pass to Steve Jastrzemski on the UCLA 16-yard line. On third down, with 31 seconds remaining, Toncic threw to Jastrzemski for the winning touchdown. Cox booted the extra point and Pitt led 25–21. The Panthers kick-off was fumbled by Gaines, and the Panthers recovered as the game ended.