Michael J. Getto (September 18, 1905 – August 27, 1960) was a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

in 1942. That season, he coached Brooklyn to a 3–8 record. Prior to his coaching career, Getto played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

while attending the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, where he earned

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 1928. After graduating from Pitt, Getto remained with the school as a football coach for the freshman team. He then worked as an assistant football coach from 1929 to 1939 and again in 1947 to 1950 at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

. While at Kansas, Getto inspired his hometown of

Jeannette, Pennsylvania Jeannette is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,780 at the 2020 census. Jeannette was founded in 1888 and named after Jeannette Hartupee McKee, the wife of one of the city's founders, H. Sellers McKe ...

to adopt the Jayhawk mascot for their high school athletic teams.

References

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List of Pitt's First Team All-Americans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Getto, Mike 1905 births 1960 deaths All-American college football players American football tackles Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) coaches Kansas Jayhawks baseball coaches Kansas Jayhawks football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football players Players of American football from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania