1916 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The 1916 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1916 college football season. Led by coach Pop Warner, the Panthers won all eight games and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 255 to 25. The team was retroactively selected as the national champion by the Billingsley Report (using its alternate "margin of victory" methodology), Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, and National Championship Foundation, and as a co-national champion with Army by Parke H. Davis.[1]

1916 Pittsburgh Panthers football
National champion (Billingsley MOV, Helms, Houlgate, NCF) Co-national championship (Davis)
Conference	Independent
1916 record	8–0
Head coach	Pop Warner (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Double wing
Captain	Bob Peck
Home stadium	Forbes Field

1916 Eastern college football independents records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Army			–					9	–	0	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					8	–	0	–	0
Brown			–					8	–	1	–	0
Colgate			–					8	–	1	–	0
Yale			–					8	–	1	–	0
Fordham			–					6	–	1	–	1
Penn State			–					8	–	2	–	0
Wash. & Jeff.			–					8	–	2	–	0
Boston College			–					6	–	2	–	0
Cornell			–					6	–	2	–	0
Princeton			–					6	–	2	–	0
Lehigh			–					6	–	2	–	1
Dartmouth			–					5	–	2	–	2
Harvard			–					7	–	3	–	0
Penn			–					7	–	3	–	1
Temple			–					3	–	1	–	2
Tufts			–					5	–	3	–	0
Carnegie Tech			–					4	–	3	–	0
Rutgers			–					3	–	2	–	2
NYU			–					4	–	3	–	1
Syracuse			–					5	–	4	–	0
Rhode Island State			–					3	–	4	–	1
Geneva			–					2	–	5	–	2
Carlisle			–					1	–	3	–	1
Lafayette			–					2	–	6	–	1
Columbia			–					1	–	5	–	2
Franklin & Marshall			–					1	–	7	–	0
Villanova			–					1	–	8	–	0

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.[2] The 1916 team was led by center Bob Peck, Pitt's first First Team All-American, and All-American end James Pat Herron, 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 would go on to become perhaps Pitt's most legendary coaches in football and basketball, respectively. This Pitt Panthers football team was given the nickname "the greatest eleven in the world."

The 1916 team was selected or recognized as national champions by multiple NCAA-designated major selectors in the official NCAA football records book.[3] The team is also recognized as the national champions by College Football Data Warehouse.[4]

Schedule

Hall of fame head football coach Pop Warner (right) with three-time All-American and team captain Bob Peck during the 1916 national championship season

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
October 7	Westminster (PA)	Forbes Field Pittsburgh, PA	W 57–0
October 14	at Navy	Worden Field Annapolis, MD	W 20–19
October 21	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	W 30–0
October 28	at Penn	Forbes Field Pittsburgh, PA	W 20–0
November 4	Allegheny	Forbes Field Pittsburgh, PA	W 46–0
November 11	Washington & Jefferson	Forbes Field Pittsburgh, PA	W 37–0
November 18	Carnegie Tech	Forbes Field Pittsburgh, PA	W 14–6
November 30	Penn State	Forbes Field Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	W 31–0

Source:[5]

List of national championship selectors

These are the selectors that determined Pitt to be national champions in 1916.[4]

1st-N-Goal Alexander Weyand Angelo Louisa Billingsley Report* Bob Kirlin Bob Royce Century Football Index College Football USA David Wilson Earl Jessen George Trevor

Harry Frye Helms Athletic Foundation* Houlgate System* James Whalen Jim Koger Loren Maxwell Mel Smith National Championship Foundation* Nutshell Sports Football Ratings Parke H. Davis* Patrick Premo

* A "major selector" that was "national in scope" according to the official NCAA football records book.[3]

All-American selections

• James P. Herron, end (1st team Walter Eckersall, of the Chicago Daily Tribune;[6] Frank Menke Syndicate;[7] 2nd team Collier's Weekly as selected by Walter Camp;[8] 2nd team International News Service[9])
• Bob Peck, center (College Football Hall of Fame inductee) (1st team Collier's Weekly; 1st team United Press;[10] 1st team International News Service; 1st team Walter Eckersall; 1st team Monty, noted New York sports writer;[11] 1st team Paul Purman, noted sports writer whose All-American team was syndicated in newspapers across the United States;[12] 1st team The Boston Post, selected by Charles E. Parker, football expert of the Boston Post;[13] Frank Menke Syndicate)
• Clifford Carlson, end (2nd team Paul Purman)
• Claude "Tiny" Thornhill, guard (1st team International News Service)
• James DeHart, quarterback (1st team Walter Eckersall)
• Andy Hastings, halfback (1st team United Press; 1st team International News Service )

Bold - Consensus All-American[14]

References

1. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2015). "National Poll Rankings" (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA. p. 108. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
2. Sciullo Jr., Sam (2008). University of Pittsburgh Football Vault: The History of the Panthers. Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, LLC. pp. 28–29. ISBN 0-7948-2653-9.
3. 2012 NCAA Football Records (PDF). The National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2012. pp. 69–71. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
4. "1916 National Championships". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
5. "Pittsburgh Yearly Results". Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2013.
6. "Four Westerners On All-American: 1916 Selection Made by W. Eckersall". Daily Review (Decatur, IL). 1916-12-11.
7. ESPN CollegeFootball Encyclopedia, p. 1152
8. "Three Colgate Men Picked By Camp for All-American Team". The Syracuse Herald. 1916-12-26.
9. Jack Velock, ed. (1916-12-04). "Have Hard Job Selecting All-American Team". Lima Times Democrat.
10. H.C. Hamilton (1916-12-03). "West Men on United Press All-American". Des Moines Daily News.
11. Monty (1916-11-25). "All American is Selected by Monty: Talent Stands Out". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
12. Paul Purman (1916-12-02). "The News' Own All-American 1916 Football Team". Des Moines Daily News.
13. "Here's All-American Eleven for 1916". The Times (Hammond, IN). 1916-12-05.
14. "Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA. 2012. pp. 2–4.