Lets take a break from all this training camp stuff for a minute.  I got my hands on something called the “University of Pittsburgh Football Vault” earlier this weekend.  (Thanks for sending Reed!), and it’s pretty damn cool.  If you aren’t familiar, it’s basically a giant, full color history of Pitt football through 2007, complete with all kind of memorabilia replicas (for example a copy of Jackie Sherrill’s Pitt contract, or the run-of-show for Pitt’s 1929 Rose bowl appearance.)

Here’s a couple of images so you get the idea.  Needless to say this will make for some really good offseason content…so onto the bookshelf it goes until next summer.

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Note the Jackie Sherrill era Pitt Cheerleaders top center.  Also a replica Pitt vs. Notre Dame Field Pass bottom left, the Score of Pitt’s Alma Mater bottom center, Pitt’s 1910 undefeated squad bottom right. 
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Who’s this guy?
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Hardware.  If only they had written this after the Aaron Donald Era.
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No summary of Pitt history would be complete without mention of this game.

Also…regarding vintage Pitt things.  I’ve recently signed up as a partner with an outfit called Vintagebrand.com (Note they are not affiliated with the Pitt Vault).   They are an online retailer that prints historical sports tickets and game programs printed on every day products such as t-shirts, caps, drinkware, posters, wall art, magnets, koozies, etc.  While they are still working on getting some vintage Pitt script up on their site, they do have some pretty cool old-school block Pitt logos.  Below is a sample of one item from each of the categories they sell.  Pretty much any image is available on any item.  (EG if you like the 1936 Pitt Notre Dame replica ticket stub, you can get it on a Mug).  I’ve asked them to get some WUP gear up there, and so if anyone has any WUP images send them to me and I’ll pass them on.  Also if you have any vintage Pitt things you think would make a good hat, t-shirt, wall art, etc let me know and I’ll see if they can add it to their collection.  In the meantime check out what they’ve got.  I bet many of you have been to some of these games!

Click here to check out Vintagebrand.com’s Pitt collection.

Pitt Notre Dame
Canvas Wall Art

P

Pitt Poster
Poster
Pitt Puzzle
Aluminum Wall Art
Pitt Hat
Hat
Pitt Coasters
Coaster
Pitt Mug
Mug
Pitt Koozie
Koozie
Pitt BC Cutting Board
Cutting Board
Pitt Magnet
Magnet
Pitt Water Bottle
Water Bottle
Pitt T Shirt
T-Shirt

Last but not least, since we are talking about vintage Pitt, how about some vintage Pitt fans?   I received these pictures late yesterday evening from an anonymous source.  I think its safe to say that wasn’t water in those red solo cups.

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Michaelangelo holds a degree in Travel Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a former staff writer for InPittsburgh Newsweekly, and currently resides near Atlanta, Georgia. He has been a Pitt fan since 1997 after he witnessed Pitt upset #22 Miami on Thursday night at Pitt Stadium.

119 thoughts on “Cool Vintage Pitt Stuff”

  3. That’s some really great stuff Mike…….. Too bad all those golfers look like they are having such a lousy time and not smiling. You won’t find better people than those guys! ANYWHERE!! I think I saw Bernie’s beer peculating in the sun!

    I’ve had the Vault for years, every PITT fan should own one.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Mike – your 1st pic is of The Boyz reliving their original Tailgate at the 1936 Pitt – ND game.

    Bernie paid $1.71 for his ticket, and $1.50 for a case of Iron City!
    PRICELESS!

    Liked by 5 people

    1. “…reliving the original tailgate…”

      That’s funny.

      But I have little doubt that Fran organized the original tailgate. 😊👍

      Go Pitt.

      Like

  10. Great pics of the POV golfing committee! Regarding Gasman’s lament about the lack of local coverage on the Pitt FB team, I feel the same way regarding 93.7 The Fan’s coverage. The Fan is the flagship radio station for Pitt sports, but unless the teams best defensive player goes down for the year with an ACL injury, mum’s the word on a daily basis. We get daily updates about the Pirates latest disaster and not only Washington Wild things scores, but other Frontier League scores, but nothing about the Panthers FB team. C’mon EJ, the FAN works for you (us). Demand better coverage! Okay, I’ll get off my soap box now.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It’s the same with Georgia Tech here in Atlanta. But Pitt is such a bigger part of Pittsburgh than Tech is of Atlanta it’s really pretty embarrassing that Pitt doesn’t get more coverage

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    2. Mark – so true. I have vowed not to listen to Pony and Muller – they like to take shots at Pitt, especially Pony.

      I hadn’t listened to them for a few weeks, then the other day I was doing some work and put them on. It took about 10 minutes for me to hear Pony making fun of Nate Peterman because of the poor games he’s had in the NFL. I don’t need to hear that, especially knowing that Pony would give up at least a finger just to be invited to an NFL camp… So I shut Pony off and I won’t be listening to their crap.

      I do like to listen to Zeise and I’ll listen to Tab Douglas, Scorin’ Dorin and the Josh guy… That’s it.

      Go Pitt.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Poni is a Cuse alum; Mack and Mueller are Nitters (but claim to be Pitt fans) and the others don’t care one way or another about Pitt. Zeise will talk about Pitt (obviously) and there will be some Pitt talk come late August. But the Pens start up in October.

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    1. the only Pitt talk now comes from Heather telling us to demand the cable companies to pick up ACCN …. which, when you think about it is a competitor to The Fan since without TV, more people may listen on The Fan.

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  12. I really can’t fathom how Pitt is okay with the short shrift that they get from The Fan. When Pat Bostic is on with the morning crew they spend the majority of the time talking about anything but Pitt FB….okay now get off my lawn👴

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  13. Well, the Pirates are a complete embarrassment, versus the just not-very-talented team they were for the first half of the season.

    Whoever thought it was a good idea to have Moran, Frazier and Bell in the same infield doesn’t know much about baseball. You might get away with one of them – I’d trade all of them… Hard enough to get three outs; you give them 4 outs 2 or 3 innings every game and you’re in big trouble…

    Manager Hurdle has become the equivalent to Coach Stallings.

    Perhaps the Pirates should contact Heather for advice. Or maybe just send Hurdle to Italy…😊

    Go Pitt.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hurdle is the worst handler of pitchers in the history of baseball. His teams lack basic fundamentals and any base running skill! What a disiaster

      Liked by 2 people

  14. Thinking of the cool vintage stuff, those games against great competition like Michigan State, ND, UCLA, USC, etc. were a big factor in my coming to Pitt. I wanted to go to a nationally recognized university, and Pitt was noted for having some nationally recognized academic programs as well as a football history that included a number of national championships. It was the perfect combination in a nice urban setting that gave access to all the benefits of a large city for job hunting.

    So what has happened? Some say that the academics are slipping and we all know about the football program over the past 30 years. I think the past Chancellors and the BoT have failed those of us who attended this university. Sorry to be so negative, but I’m actually pretty sad about this… MM, I wish you hadn’t gone down vintage lane.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Speaking of vintage, I’d love a T-shirt with Dick-Rod’s dour expression after we ripped his #2 ranked team.
    Like my weekend underwear, I don’t know that I’d ever take it off.

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    1. Gasman: my favorite memory of Pitt football. I could watch that Rich Rod Presser over and over and over again, and never get tired of it.

      Liked by 3 people

  18. I was just getting back into watching football after a 15 year or so hiatus the season of 13-9. We beat them the following year as well then lost three in a row, I believe.

    My favorite players of that 2005-2008 time period were A.B. Blades and then the guy who took over when Blades graduated, Scott McKillop. Both were tackling machines. McKillop lead the nation in 2007, I believe. Rhodes stressed tackling and would provide the players with a ‘missed tackle’ stat on Sundays according to legend…

    Blades and McKillop would make fine Spring game ‘coaches’ one of these years…

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    1. wasn’t there a stat that Pitt only missed 2 tackles in the 13-9 game … or did I misremember?
      That was Rhoads last game at Pitt – he went to Auburn for a year

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      1. excerpt from a great article about 13-9 from SBNation ….

        Wannstedt thinks Pitt missed eight tackles. Thatcher thinks it was two. WVU’s offense totaled 183 yards and one touchdown. Its season averages were 456 and five, respectively.

        If you guys want to read the ultimate recap of 13-9, google SBNation article entitled …. West Virginia vs. Pitt 2007: ‘We blew it against the s*****est fing team in the fing world’

        It was written by Alex Kirschner but won’t post it here since the F word shows up a few times

        Liked by 1 person

        1. You can certainly post a link. We would expect nothing more from the power five academic underbelly that is West Virginia University.

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        2. If that Pitt team had Flacco or Thaddeus Lewis it may have gone 11-1 in 2007. There was depth everywhere except at QB. The O-line had three NFL players and the D-line was a legit eight deep. Pitt was crappy at the position you can least afford to be. What a shame that team finished 5-7.

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      1. I saw Carrigan and Gragg for sure but had trouble making out the numbers on a few others … TE or WR?

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        1. Looked like Butler-Jenkins (88), a WR, caught one of passes on the highlights…

          One of the young DBs put a nice hit on Gragg.

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  22. Some additional depressing news from pantherlair if true just posted(Fifth & Forbes), another defensive player had knee surgery today. As of yet no confirmation and no name attached.

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    1. If true the I’m sure we will hear about it at tomorrow’s press conference.

      If the names Jackson, Hamlin, Ford, Jones or Twyman, or Alexandre are involved I’ll be one step closer to believing Pitt is cursed

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      1. The important note here is that the un-named player has supposedly already gone under surgery today. Is that a good sign or a horrific sign? << Meaning a less significant player or a very horrible injury.

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      1. Probably right about the last two teams. But the first game that Pitt won by 5 (Netherlands-B) beat Illinois by 10 a few days after losing to Pitt..

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      2. The last two teams were awful. Oh well, you play to win and don’t apologize for it.

        I hope the kids gorged on all that food over there. I also hope Coulibay gets his rest once back in Oakland. Him being tired is one excuse I’m not ready to hear come the start of the season.

        Liked by 2 people

      3. Is it fair to question the competition when PITT wins and disregard the competition when they lose? . … Yes this is more of about the PITT football OOC schedule but I believe they are interchangeable.

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  31. Eric, I grew up in Lawrenceville and moved to West Apollo 20 years ago.
    My first day in high school we had to say where we were from and upon hearing Lawrenceville the Christian Brother declared “ah, the hoodlum element”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hasn’t Lawrenceville experienced a rebirth with the new restaurants on Butler St and the new Children’s Hospital?

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  32. Nice to see the basketball team getting an all expense paid vacation to Italy….w0w!!!!
    Who pays for that… taxpayers or student tuitions??? Oh , that’s right- everybody is doing it…Div 1 sports…..

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    1. Bernie, I have a nephew who played Division 3 soccer for Ohio Northern. They did a playing tour of Italy while he was there, with the team going once every four years.

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      1. I stayed at a hotel near Sorrento for 6 days and there was a lighted soccer field right down the block ,,, with plenty of activity until 11 pm every night

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  33. What a great opportunity for athletes to go to Italy. A tremendous educational experience as well as an early start to the basketball season for a team that needs to incorporate some new players. Something they will remember forever.

    Lawrenceville has gone through amazing gentrification thanks to Children’s move, housing prices have skyrocketed and there are great restaurants in the area. Thanks to Google the same thing has happened in East Liberty and the East End in general.

    It does seem that Pitt has a history of losing key players to injury over the years, but I am sure most teams can say the same thing. Overall I would say they are doing a pretty good job considering the violent nature of the sport.

    Liked by 1 person

  34. if you want to hear Narduzzi’s interview from The Fan morning show, go to Chris Peak’s twitter

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  36. I agree Mark but I don’t expect much when you know Dunlap (we’re in the controversy business) will spin what you said to create discussion.
    I stopped listening to those bums a few years ago.
    I listened today just to hear coach and KP.

    Liked by 2 people

  38. Hey VoR Puff Johnson is still deciding, I hear he’s a rel mamma’s boy so he just might stay close to home.

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  39. Thanks, ike. I believe that Capel still has one scholarship left in his pocket for this year. Perhaps Puff will finish high school in the Fall, and will enroll at Pitt for the Spring semester. He would probably be red shirting this year anyway.

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  40. Boy oh boy, Narduzzi seems to be extra hunkered down in double secret squirrel mode for this UVA game. The fact of the matter is that Coach Whipple has been around long enough that he doesn’t hold many secret to his offense but I gotta think there are some surprises being developed down on the south-side?? You can’t underestimate the value of surprises. This game sure merits the secrecy though. imo

    Liked by 1 person

    1. ike – I heard Coach Whipple say something in an interview about them putting in some new stuff since the spring game. And he said the new things are some stuff he’s seen NFL teams using…

      Interesting…🤔

      Wonder if some of it involves real quick throws like the Steelers often do? We can’t wait to see if our OTs can hold the pass-rushers out— we need to be ready with some counter measures if they struggle…

      Go Pitt.

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      1. Good points John. If there are any elements in PITT’s favor it may be having home field advantage and a a brand new offensive coordinator. << somethings gorilla arms will take advantage of I’m sure!

        Liked by 1 person

        1. FWIW UVA has a stellar secondary that returns a lot of quality players. This does not exactly play to our advantage

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  41. Any guesses to what Narduzzi’s conference record is since becoming PITT’s head coach? 20-12 is the answer. imo, that is above average coaching.

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  42. PSU, Bama, Arizona St and Wash St are lined up for HBO’s cfb version of Hard Knocks. Bama is Bama, Herm Edwards is HC at ASU and Mike Leach is HC at WSU. Have no idea why PSU is selected aside from the schools represent East – Southeast – Southwest and Northwest. Still, my guess is that ND was one of the first schools approached. The eastern corridor from Boston thru DC does represent the largest extended TV market in the country

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  43. WOW!! Pitt //Mich State NICE TICKET….I am an old fart. I was at that game on a beautiful day in September.
    Smash mouth football at its best — with both teams pounding each other through the whole game.
    Pitt scored late in the 4th Q to tie the game with Freddy Cox’s kick making the score 7-7.

    Liked by 4 people

  44. You can take Fran out of Lawrenceville but you just can’t take the Lawrenceville out of Fran! Fran comes exactly as advertised……. Genuine.

    Liked by 1 person

  45. Dokish tweet: “Pitt could have had Jim Tressel as AD, John Calipari as basketball coach years ago, and Sean Miller as basketball coach recently, and passed on all of them. Say what you want about Pitt athletics, but you also have to say that they have morals.”

    OK guys, let ‘er rip. 🤔…………

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    1. I would love to have tressell. If he was so bad, why is he president of Youngstown state. To be president of a university, the integrity bar is much higher than athletic director.

      And who’s to say that calipari would have cheated at Pitt. Boheim and Calhoun both cheated and they haven’t taken away any of their championships.

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  48. It’s International Lefthanders Day — who knew?

    A shout-out to my fellow Lefthanders!

    Go Pitt!

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  49. One in 8 are left handed. It helped me playing basketball and baseball. Not football. Why are all subway fare card inputs and bus token boxes on the right side?

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  51. True story. My wife was born with a tumor on her right wrist that had to have dramatic surgery and many skin grafts. (she was born right handed) She learned and became prolific writing with her left hand. (better handwriting than myself) The nuns use to beat her with a ruler on her left wrist telling her to write with her right hand. What we all go though in life?? It’s the things people don’t know before they judge where we all came from……? I consider my wife a winner, she can’t throw a ball twenty feet.

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Texas was part of the ‘South’ during the Civil War, I believe, as Texas joined the Confederacy at some point. A hand full of Colorado regulars even fought the Texans in a battle at Glorietta Pass. The Texans lost and quickly retreated back to Texas…

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        1. Technically you are right Rocky, but culturally you are not. Texas is Texas. Louisiana is Louisiana. Mississippi and east through South Carolina are the south.

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        2. North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky and yes West Virginia is hillbilly country. Related to but not the same as those southern folk

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        3. Yes Texas was part of the Confederacy when Sam Houston was replaced as governor when he refused to pledge allegiance.

          But any state west of the Mississippi isnt part of the South although Arkansas and Louisiana are redneck. Texas is a Plains state and part of the Southwest…at least the western part of the state. Just west of Fort Worth is the 100th meridian…where the West begins.

          Most folk down here dont consider themselves Southerners. We’re Texans. And more than half the population wasnt even born here with immigrants from the South and transplants from all over the country. In Texas, we are all minorities.

          Tough to even find a true Texas accent anymore. You got to head deep into the countryside.

          The Republic (Lone Star State) does love its football though. 8 TX high schools are in the Top 50 pre-season rankings. Only 1 from PA.

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          1. My boss is from Texas and he tells me much of what you wrote. Football seems to be much bigger in Texas than up here. I get to Austin occasionally for work, but haven’t spent much time in the rest of the state. Austin is nice. Amazing BBQ.

            In my younger days, I drove through Texas, crossed the border at El Paso and made it almost to Mexico City. Spent a couple of weeks south of the border, camping in the country side and seeing the sights. Young and adventurous (foolish) I guess.

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            1. Austin is nice. Thats where UT is located.

              School districts spend an ungodly amount of money on football. The very best facilities and best coaches.

              My high school district (consisting of 5 high schools…class sizes 500+) had 5 four stars last year. I think the entire state of PA only had 3.

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              1. Love Austin. music, culture and not too big. It’s where I would live if I was a Texan. Ft Worth would be a consideration. Must confess that there are several places I haven’t been though

                All you have to know about Texas FB is that a high school has a stadium that holds 60k. And many others are pretty big (And I thought Massilon OH was big which holds about 21,500)

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