The 1976 National Champion Pitt Panthers. David Finoli.

 

The 1976 National Champion Pitt Panthers.    David Finoli.

Miracle on Cardiac Hill.  

 

It is not often that fans get to see their favorite college football team win a championship.   It is even more extraordinary when that happens during the first year of ever attending games for your favorite college football team.    Well, that was exactly my experience in the fall of 1976, as a 9-year-old, when I was afforded the great luxury and opportunity with my family to attend University of Pittsburgh football games that season for the first time.     It was a historical season for many reasons but also an exciting time for sports in western Pennsylvania as the Pittsburgh Steelers were winning super bowls and the Pittsburgh Pirates were regular contenders for the National League pennant.    Author David Finoli explains how the local University captured some of that Esprit De corps in his 2021 publication The 1976 National Champion Pitt Panthers. 

Finoli, a western PA native and author of many Pittsburgh sports themed books, takes the reader through each game of the three seasons leading up to the improbable run for the national championship in 1976.    We like that the author does not dive too deep into the minutia for each game under new head coach Johhny Majors, who came to Pittsburgh in 1973.    Fans can pick and choose which games they want to read or even which season depending on one’s preference.    In other words, fans can easily skim through what they find most important yet still have the option to re-visit any skipped sections in any of the seasons.   Thankfully this writing does not go overboard in explaining nearly fifty games during the swath of time.   

Equally appealing were the many tidbits that the author included throughout this coffee table classic.   Some examples were the details noted in the coaching search not only before the 1973 season but also in the head coaching search that took place about three years prior.    Finoli also sprinkled interesting nibbles about players, too, such as a few that had accumulated parking tickets, one that nearly was ruled ineligible due to signing with an agent while still in school and rumors about players actively talking about transferring.    The stories during the season even included quotes from opposing head coaches discussing their thoughts about the panthers, several of them taking shots at Pitt or discounting their ascent early in the process.   One rival coach went as far as saying they had figured out how to stop the veer offense, one that Pitt had happened to deploy during that particular season.  For a short book, the writer brought forth the spirit of the rivalries that Pitt had with in-state opponents such as Penn State and Temple but also border wars with West Virginia to the south or Syracuse to the north and traditional long term rival Notre Dame, who reportedly let their grass grow a little longer for the opening game of the 1976 season in hopes of slowing down Pitt’s all-American running back Tony Dorsett. 

Finoli clearly did his research and is on top of the players that contributed to all of the games in that era, leading up to the undefeated team in ’76.    So many contributors were highlighted for their accomplishments such as Dorsett, but also major contributors like Matt Cavanaugh, Elliott Walker, Gordon Jones, Jim Corbett, Bob Hutton, JC Wilson, Robert Haygood, Carson Long, Al Romano, Gary Burley and many others including assistant coach Jackie Sherrill who took over as head coach in 1977 when Majors was lured to return to his native Tennessee.  For the record, Majors name, according to the author, was perpetually linked to head coach openings, mostly in the south, not long after taking over in Pittsburgh.   Although this occurred half a century ago it is not at all unlike the college football news of today.           

Like-minded fans and readers that enjoy what was printed may conceivably question that this historical football course could have been lengthened with additional stories about the characters.  One example could have easily profiled more about Tony Dorsett and his story and experiences while at Pitt.    Even more explanation pertaining to the backgrounds of both prominent coaches that matriculated to Pittsburgh before the 1973 season could be warranted.   To capture more of the Zeitgeist media accounts from the local writers could have been transformed into the literature as well.  

The 1976 National Champion Pitt Panthers is a short, concise story of about 150 pages.    Some minor limitations were noted, namely that the book is on the short side and lacks details of the characters.   However, this book was written more as an informational piece rather than a novel.   So, it was likely by design that Finoli kept the dialogue purposely shorter to meet that objective.   Having said that, this is arguably a must-read for most University of Pittsburgh football fans.     Those readers old enough to remember those exciting times and can relive those moments and even pick up a few forgotten or unknown treats along the way.    For those readers too young to have witnessed this era in the 1970’s they can gain a greater appreciation for what the late Johnny Majors and staff had accomplished in such a short time.    One does NOT have to be a decades-long fan of the panthers to attain and enjoy this publication, but it is worth the effort to take ride through history and discover, maybe for the first time, a bygone era that likely will never return to western Pennsylvania.    

 

·       You may like to read this book if you are a university of Pittsburgh football fan.

·       You might like to read this book if you are a young or venerable college football fan.  

·       You might like to read this book if you seek stories about Pittsburgh sports history. 

·       You might like to read this book if you enjoy reading about sports history and championships.

 

Find out more about the authors publications:    https://www.21-66books.com/books