1955 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The 1955 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1955 college football season. The Panthers were led by first-year head coach John Michelosen and played their home games at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1955 Pittsburgh Panthers football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 11
1955 record7–4
Head coach
Home stadiumPitt Stadium
(Capacity: 56,500)
1955 Eastern college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Drexel   –    8 –0 –0
Carnegie Tech   –    5 –1 –1
Princeton   –    7 –2 –0
Yale   –    7 –2 –0
Tufts   –    5 –2 –0
Boston College   –    5 –2 –1
No. 20 Army   –    6 –3 –0
Colgate   –    6 –3 –0
No. 11 Pittsburgh   –    7 –4 –0
Holy Cross   –    6 –4 –0
Syracuse   –    5 –3 –0
Cornell   –    5 –4 –0
Penn State   –    5 –4 –0
Buffalo   –    4 –4 –1
Harvard   –    3 –4 –1
Dartmouth   –    3 –6 –0
Hofstra   –    3 –6 –0
Bucknell   –    2 –6 –1
Boston University   –    2 –6 –0
Franklin & Marshall   –    2 –6 –0
Brown   –    2 –7 –0
Columbia   –    1 –8 –0
Villanova   –    1 –9 –0
Temple   –    0 –8 –0
Penn   –    0 –9 –0
Rankings from AP Poll

In a season that included upsets over top-ten teams Duke and rival West Virginia, Pitt had their most successful season in years. The Panthers finished ranked in the polls for the first time since 1938 and were invited to their first bowl game since the 1937 Rose Bowl.

Pittsburgh was invited to the 1956 Sugar Bowl, played against Georgia Tech. Intense controversy surrounded the bowl game, as Pittsburgh had a black player, Bobby Grier, at a time when the sport was not fully integrated. Many people opposed Pittsburgh playing in the bowl, and having desegregated seating sections in the stands, including Georgia governor Marvin Griffin. Georgia's Governor publicly threatened Georgia Tech's president Blake R Van Leer in an attempt to bar Grier or stop the game. [1] The game ultimately was played without incident, and marked the first integrated Sugar Bowl.[2]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 17California
W 27–7
September 24at SyracuseNo. 7
W 22–12
October 1at No. 5 OklahomaNo. 12Oklahoma Memorial StadiumL 14–2656,907
October 8No. 12 Navy
L 0–21
October 15Nebraska
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh
W 21–721,006
October 22at No. 5 Duke
W 26–7
October 29Miami (FL)No. 16
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
L 7–21
November 5VirginiaNo. 6
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
W 18–7
November 12No. 6 West VirginiaNo. 17
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
W 26–7
November 19at Penn StateNo. 15
W 20–0
January 2vs. No. 7 Georgia TechNo. 11
L 0–780,175
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Coaching staff
1955 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
Coaching Staff

Team players drafted into the NFL
PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
John PaluckDefensive end224Washington Redskins
Bill SchmittGuard17196Pittsburgh Steelers
Fred GlatzBack20231Pittsburgh Steelers
Ray DiPasqualeBack22255Pittsburgh Steelers
Pete NeftQuarterback23268Pittsburgh Steelers
Glen TunningGuard25300Los Angeles Rams

[3]

References
  1. Jake Grantl (2019-11-14). "Rearview Revisited: Segregation and the Sugar Bowl". Georgia Tech. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  2. Thamel, Pete (January 1, 2006). "Grier Integrated a Game and Earned the World's Respect". New York Times.
  3. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1956.htm
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