Jock Sutherland

Bio

John B. "Jock" Sutherland was the single-wing formation's technician and its most effective practitioner. During a 20-year coaching career at Lafayette (1919-1923) and Pittsburgh (1924-1938), his teams had a combined record of 144-28-14. A dour, unmarried Scotsman, Sutherland was hardly a man of excesses or emotion. His personality mirrored the cold, calculated techniques of his teams. Pop Warner looked at Sutherland's single wing and admitted, "He put more punch into it than any other coach." In 1935, with a sophomore-dominated Pitt team, Sutherland led the Panthers to a 7-1-2 record. The next season, his third-ranked Panthers went 8-1-1 and beat Washington, 21-0, in the Rose Bowl. In 1937, his team went undefeated and won the national crown, then shocked the country by becoming the first team to publicly decline a Rose Bowl invitation. The older players had already played in Pasadena once and wanted their Christmas holiday. Following his collegiate coaching career, Sutherland turned to professional football for two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and another two seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers. His record in the NFL was 28-16-1.