Sutherland, "Jock" (John B.)
Football
b. March 21, 1889, Cooper Angus, Scotland
d. April 11, 1948
Sutherland came to the United States when he was eighteen years old, worked as a policeman for a time, then enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh when he was twenty-five. He'd never played football before, but he was a starting guard for three years under "Pop" Warner, during which the school lost only one game. The tall, solidly built Sutherland was very strong; he won the IC4A hammer throw championship in 1918.
He coached Lafayette for five seasons, from 1919 through 1923, winning 33 games, including two against Pittsburgh, while losing 8 and tying 2. In 1924, Sutherland succeeded Warner at Pittsburgh. His first team went 5-3-1, but during the next 14 years Pittsburgh never lost two games in a row or more than two in a season.
A hard taskmaster and disciplinarian, Sutherland believed in a strong running game and ball control. Other coaches often punted on third down during that era, but Sutherland never did because he didn't want to give up the ball. In recruiting, his philosophy was to find strong, mobile high school athletes, regardless of position, and to fit them in where they were needed.
Sutherland's record of 111 wins, 20 losses, and 12 ties was marred only by three straight losses in the Rose Bowl. His 1927 team was undefeated, winning 8 games and tying 1, but lost 7-6 to Penn State in the bowl. The 1929 team won all 9 of its regular season games before losing to Southern California, 47-14. And his 1932 team won 8 and tied 2 before another horrendous loss to Southern Cal, 35-0.
In 1936, Pitt had a 7-1-1 record and won a fourth Rose Bowl invitation. This time, Sutherland's team beat the University of Washington, 21-0.
Pittsburgh had another undefeated season in 1937, winning 9 while tying 1, and went 8-2-0 in 1938. But Sutherland had had a series of disagreements with the athletic director and he announced his resignation.
The NFL's Brooklyn Dodgers hired him in 1940 and Sutherland had a 15-7-0 record in two seasons there. In 1946, the hapless Pittsburgh Steelers lured him back into coaching with a $12,500 contract plus a share of profits and an option to buy stock in the team. He ran a tough training camp to condition his players and to find out how many of them could play for him.
When the season opened, 24 of the 33 Steelers were in their first year with the team. Pittsburgh was in contention with two weeks left, but lost its last two games to finish 5-5-1. In 1947, the team was 8-4-0 and tied for first place in the Eastern Division, but lost the playoff game to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Sutherland had been suffering from agonizing headaches for much of the season. In the spring of 1948, it was discovered that he had a brain tumor and he died despite two operations.
A talk he gave to his players when he first took over the Steelers summed up his coaching philosophy: "We must strive for perfection. One mistake is enough to cost us a ballgame, and we must have a club which refuses to make that mistake."