John Michelosen devoted his life to
football and was still busy as chief scout for the San Francisco
49ers in the NFL when he was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.
During a career of over forty years, John
distinguished himself as both a player and a coach. He was the
head coach of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and his alma mater, the
University of Pittsburgh.
He played high school football in his hometown of Ambridge during
the reign of Coach
Moe Rubenstein.
The Bridgers lost only four games during Michelson’s career. Then he
moved to Pitt to play quarterback for Jock Sutherland for three
seasons, during which the Panthers piled up a 23-3-4 record. John quarterbacked Pitt teams
that won two national championships and blanked Washington in the
1937 Rose Bowl game, 21-0. Following graduation in 1938, John
became Pitt's backfield coach and guided the famous "Dream
Backfield" of that year. In 1939, Jock Sutherland became head coach
of the old Brooklyn Dodgers of the National Football League and
John was his assistant. John served in the Navy
from 1942 to 1945 and then joined Sutherland again as an assistant coach,
this time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. After Sutherland's death in
1948, John became head coach of the Steelers and held the post
for four seasons and later served as head coach at Pitt from 1955
through 1965.
John Michelosen devoted his life to
football and was still busy as chief scout for the San Francisco
49ers in the NFL when he was inducted into the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.
During a career of over forty years, John
distinguished himself as both a player and a coach. He was the
head coach of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and his alma mater, the
University of Pittsburgh.
He played high school football in his hometown of Ambridge during
the reign of Coach