1963 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The 1963 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1963 NCAA University Division football season. Led by ninth-year head coach John Michelosen, the Panthers were 9–1 and were fourth in the final AP poll, third in the coaches poll.

1963 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 4
1963 record	9–1
Head coach	John Michelosen (9th season)
Home stadium	Pitt Stadium (Capacity: 57,331)

1963 NCAA University Division independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Memphis State			–					9	–	0	–	1
No. 4 Pittsburgh			–					9	–	1	–	0
No. 2 Navy			–					9	–	2	–	0
Syracuse			–					8	–	2	–	0
Utah State			–					8	–	2	–	0
Oregon			–					8	–	3	–	0
Penn State			–					7	–	3	–	0
Army			–					7	–	3	–	0
Air Force			–					7	–	4	–	0
Boston College			–					6	–	3	–	0
Buffalo			–					5	–	3	–	1
Southern Miss			–					5	–	3	–	1
Idaho			–					5	–	4	–	0
Villanova			–					5	–	4	–	0
Oregon State			–					5	–	5	–	0
San Jose State			–					5	–	5	–	0
Xavier			–					5	–	4	–	1
West Texas State			–					4	–	4	–	1
Florida State			–					4	–	5	–	1
Colgate			–					3	–	4	–	1
New Mexico State			–					3	–	6	–	1
Colorado State			–					3	–	7	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					3	–	7	–	0
Texas Western			–					3	–	7	–	0
Detroit			–					2	–	6	–	1
Holy Cross			–					2	–	6	–	1
Notre Dame			–					2	–	7	–	0
Pacific (CA)			–					2	–	8	–	0
Houston			–					2	–	8	–	0
Boston University			–					1	–	6	–	1
Dayton			–					1	–	7	–	2
Rankings from AP Poll

The Panthers did not play in a bowl game; their most recent postseason appearance was in 1956 and the next was in 1973.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 20	at UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA [1]	W 20–0	28,095
September 28	Washington	No. 10	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	W 13–6	36,946
October 5	California	No. 9	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	W 35–15	21,931
October 19	at West Virginia	No. 3	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV [2] (Backyard Brawl)	W 13–10	31,000
October 26	at No. 10 Navy	No. 3	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD [3]	L 12–24	30,231
November 2	Syracuse	No. 10	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	W 35–27	44,217
November 9	at Notre Dame	No. 8	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN [4] (rivalry)	W 27–7	41,306
November 16	Army	No. 6	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA [5]	W 28–0	47, 947
November 30	at Miami (FL)	No. 5	Orange Bowl Miami, FL [6]	W 31–20	33,230
December 7	Penn State	No. 4	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA [7][8][9] (rivalry)	W 22–21	52,349
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

• Opener at UCLA was played on Friday night.[1]
• Following the assassination of President Kennedy, the Penn State game was postponed two weeks to December 7.[7][8][9]

Coaching staff

1963 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
	Coaching Staff John Michelosen – Head Coach

Season summary

at UCLA

Pittsburgh Panthers at UCLA Bruins

	1	2	3	4	Total
Pittsburgh	7	10	3	0	20
UCLA	0	0	0	0	0

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA

• Date: September 20
• Game time: 11:15 PM EDT
• Game attendance: 28,095

Game information
Pittsburgh UCLA

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Pittsburgh UCLA "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 20 0

at West Virginia

#3 Pittsburgh Panthers at West Virginia Mountaineers

	1	2	3	4	Total
#3 Pittsburgh	7	0	0	6	13
West Virginia	0	3	0	7	10

at Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV

• Date: October 19
• Game time: 2:00 PM EDT
• Game attendance: 32,000

Game information
Pittsburgh West Virginia

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Pittsburgh West Virginia "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 13 10

Penn State

Penn State Nittany Lions at #4 Pittsburgh Panthers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn State	7	7	7	0	21
#4 Pittsburgh	0	12	3	7	22

at Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA

• Date: December 7
• Game time: 1:00 PM EST
• Game attendance: 52,349

Game information
Penn State Pittsburgh

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Penn State Pittsburgh "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 21 22

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Paul Martha	Defensive Back	1	10	Pittsburgh Steelers
Ray Popp	Guard	8	100	New York Giants
Rick Leeson	Back	10	130	Washington Redskins
Paul Cercel	Center	16	213	Dallas Cowboys
Bryan Generalovich	End	20	275	Pittsburgh Steelers

Source[10]

Media

Radio

Flagship station	Play-by-play	Color commentator	Sideline reporter	Studio host
WWSW–AM 970

See also

• 1963 NCAA University Division football rankings

References

1. McHugh, Roy (September 21, 1963). "Pitt passes test with UCLA". Pittsburgh Press. p. 6.
2. "Pitt wins 13-10". Chicago Tribune. UPI. October 20, 1963. p. 2, sec. 2.
3. "Navy hands Pitt first grid loss". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. October 27, 1963. p. 31.
4. "Devore loses temper, Irish bow to Panthers". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. November 10, 1963. p. 34.
5. "Pitt wallops Army for No. 7". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. November 17, 1963. p. 37.
6. Jordan, Jimmy (December 2, 1963). "Pitt sure of one game against State Saturday". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 35.
7. Jordan, Jimmy (November 22, 1963). "57,331 sellout for Pitt-Penn State tilt". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 25.
8. Jordan, Jimmy (December 7, 1963). "55,000 to see Pitt battle Penn State at stadium today". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 12.
9. "Pitt rallies to edge Penn State 22-21". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. December 8, 1963. p. 40.
10. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1964.htm