Hall of Fame
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 visible 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 truth, Sutherland's
opponents were helpless to his attack. 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.
