Hall of Fame
Position: End
Years: 1927-1929
Place of Birth: Youngstown, OH
Date of Birth: Mar 17, 1905
Place of Death: Hinsdale, IL
Date of Death: Jan 30, 1977
Jersey Number: 11
Height: 6-0
Weight: 175
High School: Kingston, PA (Wyoming Seminary)
The year was 1929 and in those days if you were 6-0 and weighed 175-pounds you could be a terror on the football field. Such was Joe Donchess, a standout end from Pittsburgh. Although Donchess left school in the fifth grade to work in a steel mill, his education did not end there. Five years later, he was "discovered" by an alumnus of Wyoming Seminary, who sent him to that famous prep school. Donchess turned out to be a brilliant scholar and made up three grades in one year. Donchess then went on to attend Pittsburgh where he earned scholastic as well as athletic distinction. The Panthers were undefeated in 1929, the year Donchess was chosen as a consensus All-American. Pittsburgh went to the Rose Bowl that season, but despite its four All-Americans and a label as one of the great teams in the history of Eastern football", Pitt was resoundingly stomped by the University of Southern California, 47-14. Donchess also participated in the 1928 Rose Bowl against Stanford, and again, despite a powerful team, suffered a bitter 7-6 defeat. In 1937 Joe became Assistant Chief Surgeon at U.S. Steel and then Chief Surgeon there in 1943, a position he held until his retirement in 1965. He died in 1977.
