John Michelosen (February 13, 1916 – October 17, 1982) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player and coach. He served as the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) from 1948 to 1951, compiling a record of 20–26–2. From 1955 to 1965 he was the head football coach at his alma mater, the University of Pittsburgh, tallying a mark of 56–49–7.

Early years

Michelosen was a native of the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

suburb of

Ambridge, Pennsylvania Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Incorporated in 1905 as a company town by the American Bridge Company, Ambridge is located 16 miles (25 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River. The population wa ...

. Michelosen got his start in football playing quarterback at Ambridge High School, under coach Maurice "Moe" Rubenstein. He attended the University of Pittsburgh where he played for

Jock Sutherland John Bain Sutherland (March 21, 1889 – April 11, 1948) was an American football player and coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College (1919–1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924–1938) and professional football for the ...

. He started for three years, playing on Pittsburgh's national championship teams in 1936 and 1937. He was a team captain in 1937. He was also a member of the

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and col ...

fraternity. After his college career, Sutherland and Michelosen continued their relationship as coach and player with the (football) Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers until Sutherland's death in 1948. Michelosen was the backfield coach on the 1946 and 1947 Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff.

World War II

Michelosen served as a naval flight instructor for three years in World War II.

Coaching career

After graduating, Michelosen joined Pitt's staff as an assistant football coach.

Pittsburgh Steelers

In 1948 Michelosen became the youngest head coach of any

(NFL) team in the league's "modern era" (loosely defined as since 1946) when he took command of the Steelers. At the age of 32 years and two months he remained the youngest head coach in NFL history until 1962 when

Harland Svare Harland James Svare (November 25, 1930 – April 4, 2020) was an American professional football player, coach and general manager. Svare was a linebacker who played eight seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants of the National Foot ...

beat him out by four months in mid-season. Michelosen held on to the distinction of being the youngest coach ever to start an NFL season until the Oakland Raiders hired Lane Kiffin in 2007. Under Michelson's leadership, the Steelers continued to run the Sutherland style Single Wing Offense. They were the last NFL team to discontinue the scheme as a primary offense. Michelosen's tenure as Steelers head coach lasted until 1951 and he compiled a 20–26–2 record. In 1949 Michelosen guided the Steelers to a second-place finish in the NFL's Eastern Division. At the time only division champions qualified for post-season play.

Pittsburgh Panthers

Michelosen returned to the University of Pittsburgh in 1955 and served as head football coach for 11 seasons, through the 1965 campaign. He led Pitt to back-to-back major

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...

s in the 1950s. His 1963 team finished the season with a 9–1 record and ranked #3 and #4 in the major polls, but was not invited to a bowl game, perhaps due to the postponement of a game against Penn State following the

assassination of John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

. Michelosen put together a 56–49–7 record over 11 seasons, with only four losing campaigns. Pitt was ranked as high as #3 in the nation during the height of his coaching career and was ranked among the top ten programs six seasons and the top 25 for seven seasons with Michelosen at the helm.

Legacy and honors

Michelosen was an influence on NFL greats such as

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year i ...

and

Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2006. He was the head coach of the Kansas City ...

, both of whom were born and raised near Pittsburgh and played for Pitt in the 1950s. Michelosen also has a place in the civil rights history of the country, guiding the first team to break the color barrier in the southern bowls. In the

1956 Sugar Bowl The 1956 Sugar Bowl featured the 7th ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and the 11th ranked Pittsburgh Panthers. The game was played on January 2, since New Year's Day was a Sunday. Much controversy preceded the 1956 Sugar Bowl. Segregationists a ...

, Pittsburgh became the first sports team ever to field an African American player in the deep south. Michelosen was inducted into the

Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame The Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame (PSHF) is a nonprofit organization established in 1962.Home page
Pennsylvania Sports Hall o ...

in 1970.

Death

Michelosen died on October 17, 1982, in San Diego, California following a heart attack.

Head coaching record

College

NFL

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michelosen, John 1916 births 1982 deaths American football quarterbacks Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football players Pittsburgh Steelers head coaches People from Ambridge, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania United States Navy pilots of World War II Military personnel from Pennsylvania