1909 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

On October 2nd 1909 the Joe Thompson era started at Exposition Park in front of two thousand onlookers against the Ohio Northern University Polar Bears from Ada, Ohio. The inexperience of the Pitt squad was evident at first, but halfway through the first half the offense, behind the running of “Tex” Richards and Homer Roe, was able to sustain a drive and score a touchdown. “Tex” Richards carried the pigskin the final ten yards for the first score. Frank Van Doren missed the goal after. Six minutes later Richards and Harry Ent advanced the ball to the visitors five and Ent plunged into the end zone for the second touchdown of the half. Van Doren was successful on the goal after and Pitt led 11-0 at the break. Coach Thompson made wholesale substitutions for the second half. The Pitt second string offense managed one long drive that culminated in a five yard dash into the end zone by Dave Richards. Van Doren missed the point after. The final score read 16-0. Ohio Northern finished the season with a 1-4 record. [1]

The kick-off time for the Marietta College Pioneers game was changed from 3 p.m. to 10 a.m. because the Pirates were playing in the World Series. Pitt hoped some baseball fans would visit Exposition Park for football prior to going to Forbes Field for baseball. The Marietta team was the same veteran club that gave Pitt a scare the previous two years. Pitt's starting ends (Homer Roe and Jack Lindsay) were both out with injuries. The Marietta offense spent most of the first half in Pitt territory but could not score. Late in the half Pitt substitute end Norman Budd picked up a Marietta fumble and raced sixty-five yards for the touchdown. Center Ralph Galvin kicked the point after. Pitt led 6-0 at the break. In the early moments of the second half Pitt quarterback Bill Robinson returned a punt forty-five yards for a touchdown. Galvin was successful on the point after and Pitt led 12-0. The Pitt offense was rejuvenated and spent the rest of the game on Marietta's side of the field, but could not again penetrate the Marietta goal line again. The unfortunate part of the game was the unsportsmanlike conduct of Marietta halfback Nutter. Prior to Marietta, he played at VPI and West Virginia. The line-up presented by Marietta listed him as Miller but a few minutes into the game the Pitt eleven recognized who he was. Field Judge Sam Caruthers made a decision that was reversed by the umpire. An infuriated Mr. Nutter punched Mr. Caruthers. Surprisingly, he was not disqualified or penalized. Minutes later he punched Pitt tackle Frank Van Doren, which caused the crowd to voice their displeasure with the proceedings. The police finally escorted Mr. Nutter from the premises. Marietta finished the season with a 4-3 record. The Pitt Athletic Committee decided that Marietta College would no longer be on the schedule. [2]

On October 16th Pitt played their first game at Forbes Field against the Bucknell Bisons from Lewisburg, Pa. The final game of the World Series between the Pirates and Tigers was played in Detroit at the same time. The baseball game updates were bulletined to the crowd every inning. Pitt played great football from the start. They moved the ball into Bucknell territory and punted to Bucknell on their twenty. On second down Bucknell halfback Clark fumbled and Pitt back Harry Ent scooped up the pigskin and scampered for the first score of the game. Ralph Galvin was successful on the point after. Pitt led 6-0. On the Bisons next possession the Pitt defense stiffened and forced a punt. Quarterback O'Brien of Bucknell punted over the goal and into the bleachers. Pitt thought the ball was dead and ignored it. Bucknell end Campuzanno vaulted a fence and recovered the ball. Knox, the referee, called touchdown Bucknell. O'Brien made the point after and the score was tied. Pitt argued to no avail and after the game Mr. Knox admitted he made an error. On Pitt's next possession Bucknell's defense forced a punt and their quarterback O'Brien fumbled. Pitt halfback Charles Quaily recovered on the Bison twenty yard line. On first down fullback “Tex” Richards raced the twenty yards into the end zone for a touchdown. The play was called back for hurdling. In spite of the penalty, “Tex” Richards scored again a few plays later. Ralph Galvin kicked the point after and Pitt led at halftime 12-6. The second half was played in Bucknell territory. Pitt scored early in the half on a plunge by Richards with Galvin adding the point after. Coach Thompson made wholesale substitutions. Pitt came close to scoring again twice but lost the ball on downs and a fumble. The final score was 18-6. Bucknell finished the season with a 2-4-1 record.[3]

In 1908 the Carlisle Indian football team was welcomed to Exposition Park in three inches of snow. On October 23rd, 1909 the Carlisle Indian football team was welcomed to Forbes Field with more than six inches of mud. Four thousand brave fans sat through the steady downpour to cheer on their team. Early in the game Pitt moved the ball into Carlisle territory. After an exchange of punts and a fumble recovery, Pitt had the ball on Carlisle's fifteen yard line. Six plays later they turned the ball over on downs at the six. Carlisle punted out of danger. Pitt tried an onside kick that was recovered by Carlisle on the one yard line. Carlisle punted out to the twenty-seven yard line. Ralph Galvin missed a field goal. Carlisle got possession on the twenty-five and could not penetrate the Pitt defense. The Indians punted to Homer Roe and he raced fifty-eight yards for the touchdown. Galvin made the point after and Pitt led 6-0. The Carlisle offense then got to work in Pitt territory. On three successive possessions the Indians tried field goals. Houser missed the first from thirty yards out. Libby missed from twenty-five as the ball hit the upright. Finally, Houser sent the ball through the uprights from the fifteen and the score at halftime was 6-3. Early in the second half Galvin was successful on a thirty-three yard field goal to increase the lead to 9-3. Pitt managed to get into scoring territory but turned the ball over on downs at the one foot line. A punting duel ensued and Pitt finally possessed the ball on Carlisle's nine yard line. Tex Richards bulled his way through the muck into the end zone for the final score of the game. The final score was 14-3. Carlisle finished the season with an 8-3-1 record.[4]

On October 30th , in beautiful fall weather, six thousand fans welcomed the Notre Dame football team to Pittsburgh for the first game in what would become a major rivalry. Notre Dame scored on a forward pass from Hamilton to Matthews four minutes into the first half. Mathews kicked the point after and Notre Dame led 6-0. Pitt was able to move the ball against the heavier Irish but fumbles, penalties and the Irish defense stymied their efforts to get into the end zone. At the end of the half Pitt drove the ball to the one yard line of Notre Dame only to lose the ball on downs. Most of the second half saw the Pitt defense preventing the Irish offense from adding to the score. Coach Thompson substituted fresh bodies into the line-up but the Irish defense was too strong and rendered the Pitt offense ineffective. The Irish missed two field goals. Vaughan tried from thirty-eight yards and Ryan tried from seventeen yards. Notre Dame halfback Dwyer thought he caught a touchdown pass but referee Butler ruled otherwise. Mr. Dwyer punched Mr. Butler and was immediately disqualified. Pitt tackle Frank Van Doren injured his ribcage late in the game. Pitt had the ball on the Notre Dame twenty-eight yard line as time expired. Notre Dame won the game 6-0 and they would finish the season with a 7-0-1 record.[5]

On November 6th the Pitt football team and some one hundred students and alumni took the B. & O. Railroad to Morgantown, West Virginia for the 1909 edition of the Backyard Brawl. Pitt was missing two starters from its line-up, Frank Van Doren and Captain Homer Roe due to injuries.. Tillie Dewar, graduate transfer from Washington & Jefferson, became eligible and replaced Roe at end. Robert Peacock replaced Van Doren at tackle. A morning rain rendered the field muddy, but the sun appeared at game time and three thousand fans came through the turnstile. On Pitt's first possession they carried the ball methodically down the field to West Virginia's five yard line. On first and goal quarterback Budd fumbled the handoff and West Virginia fullback Springer (former Pitt fullback) recovered. The remainder of the first half was played in Mountaineer territory but Pitt was unable to capitalize. Ralph Galvin missed three field goal tries. The second half was more of the same as the Pitt offense advanced the ball to the Mountaineer's thirteen yard line and turned it over on downs. The Pitt defense played good football, but the offense was stymied by fumbles, penalties and the slick footing. The Mountaineers won a moral victory with the 0-0 tie. West Virginia finished the season with a 4-3-2 record.[6]

On November 13th the undefeated Washington & Jefferson Presidents arrived at Forbes Field to attempt to extend their three game winning streak over the Pitt eleven. Over twelve thousand fans packed the bleachers to cheer on their team. Both teams had bands which marched with students and fans through town into the stadium prior to kick off. The Pitt team was at full strength for this encounter. Pitt's Ralph Galvin kicked off to W & J halfback Bill Marshall and he returned the ball to the Presidents twenty yard line. On the first scrimmage play W & J quarterback Forsythe fumbled the hand off to Marshall and Frank Van Doren recovered for Pitt on the sixteen yard line. Two quarterback runs advanced the ball to the five and finally fullback “Tex” Richards bulled his way into the end zone for the first Pitt touchdown. Ralph Galvin kicked the point after and Pitt led 6-0 after two minutes of play. Later in the half, Pitt had the ball on the Presidents thirty-one yard line. On first down quarterback Bill Robinson completed a forward pass to Homer Roe for a gain of twenty-seven yards to the four. On second and goal Richards again plunged into the end zone for the score. Galvin was successful on the point after and Pitt led 12-0 at the break. Early in the second half W & J Captain Freitag kicked a thirty-four yard field goal to put the Presidents on the scoreboard. The Pitt defense did not allow another score and held the Presidents to one first down the entire game. A flubbed punt allowed Pitt to gain possession on the Presidents fourteen yard line. Quarterback Will Robinson gained five yards and an off sides penalty advanced the ball to the four. On second down halfback Art Robinson followed tackle Van Doren into the end zone. Galvin missed the point after and Pitt held on to win 17-3. Washington & Jefferson finished the season with a 8-1-1 record.[17]

The Mount Union College football team from Alliance, Ohio was the warm-up opponent before the Thanksgiving Day battle with Pennsylvania State College. Coach Thompson started the scrub team and according to the Pittsburgh Daily Post “Both teams put up a poor exhibition of football”. In the first half, Pitt quarterback Norman Budd fumbled a punt and Mount Union recovered on the Pitt twenty yard line. The Pitt defense held, but Mount Union guard McGregor booted a thirty yard field goal for a 3-0 lead for the visitors. Later in the half, Pitt fullback Ross Feightner recovered a fumble on the Mount Union twenty yard line. On first down halfback Charles Quailey gained five yards and fumbled the ball back to the guests. Coach Thompson was not happy at halftime. Pitt received the second half kick off. Halfback Quailey carried three straight plays and gained fifty yards to Mount Union's twenty yard line. From there he and fullback Feightner advanced the ball to the five. On first down Feightner bulled his way into the end zone for Pitt's first score. Budd missed the point after and Pitt led 5-3. On the next kickoff Quailey fielded the ball on the six and raced one hundred and four yards for a touchdown. The point after was successful and Pitt led 11-3. Coach Thompson sent the first team into the game for the closing minutes and “Tex” Richards scored a touchdown to make the final 17-3. Mount Union finished the season with an 8-2 record.[8]

Fifteen thousand fanatics witnessed the annual Thanksgiving Day football game between the Pennsylvania State College Nittany Lions and University of Pittsburgh. Penn State was unbeaten with four victories and two ties. The winner of this game would be the football champion of Pennsylvania. Both teams were at full strength and the weather was perfect. Penn State dominated the first half. They totaled eleven first downs and gained one hundred and eighty-one yards of offense. Pitt had no first downs and only twenty-two yards of offense. The Pitt defense struggled to keep the game close. Penn State quarterback Vorhis missed a nineteen yard field goal. The Nittanies then lost the ball on downs at the Pitt fifteen. On State's next possession they lost the ball on downs on Pitt's three yard line. Pitt punted out of trouble but Penn State advanced the ball to the seven yard line. State halfback Bull McCleary carried the pigskin into the end zone for the only score of the game. Vorhis missed the point after. In the second half, the Pitt offense out-gained State sixty yards to fifty-four. Pitt had two first downs and State had none. Pitt could not sustain a drive and lost the game 5-0. Penn State finished the season 5-0-2.[18]