History of UCF Football
A lot of football-minded folks have called Don Jonas a lot of things for a lot of years.
They cheered him when he was a great player for Penn State under Rip Engel in the days before Joe Pa (Paterno) was to become a household name in NCAA football, and later when he was a winning player for Orlando’s Continental League professional team and a legendary star for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
But of all the things he was called, Jonas is most proud of the role he played in pioneering the football program at a growing school in the middle of Central Florida’s nowhere known as FTU. For that, they called him COACH.
Jonas, a true sports personality in the region, from player to radio sportscaster/analyst to promoter to official, did it all. In fact, he still officiates today 28 years later for the Central Florida Officials Association.
Still, one of his greatest accomplishments was to become the first football coach in what now is the history of UCF football.
The year was 1979 and this was not your high profile opportunity. This was NO pay but it was an opportunity to give something back to a community that adored the former football star. Jonas actually was working for the city of Orlando as a promotion specialist putting on events at the old Tangerine Bowl. Mayor Carl Langford thought it was a splendid idea to split Jonas’ time between his duties with the and the university. And Jonas was up to the challenge, which included putting together the first coaching staff.
“Look at that staff we had,” Jonas reminisced. “It was fantastic to have people of that calibre. There was no shortage of guys who knew what they were doing. I think eight of the guys that were out there had NFL or professional experience. Everybody went out and coached for nothing because they knew it had a great future.”
Jonas had school teachers, graduate students, policemen, airport workers, you name it. Some were originally recruited by Athletic Director Jack O’Leary who got the football program rolling after newly appointed president Dr. Trevor Colburn let it be known he wanted to start a football program.
“We didn’t lack for numbers of players,” Jonas noted. “We had well over 100.”
And so from [Jack] O’Leary to [George] O’Leary, UCF football enjoyed its modest beginnings. This is a tribute to that first staff, 14 full-time, part-time, volunteer-time coaches, all of whom contributed to a program that now has a centerpiece, a 45,000-seat top--of-the-line stadium which bears the name Bright House Networks Stadium.
Jonas started his game plan by going to his old teammate Tom Bland, and outstanding receiver and who became an excellent coach and teacher before going into private business. Bland was one of three coaches on the faculty at Evans High School. Tom Murphy taught at Lake Brantley but Jonas said “he was impressed with his resume and football knowledge.”
The other Trojans were offensive line coach John Piccininni and defensive coordinator Ernie Chandler. Piccininni, in recent years, has continued to work with kickers and individual athletes at Evans and also watched his son Eddie grow into one of the area’s top basketball players for Pine Castle Christian Academy. Chandler, now retired, was also a successful soccer and bowling coach.
Other offensive coaches included Ray Tazio, who spent some time on the Taxi Squad for the San Francisco 49ers, Sammy Weir who was another product of Jonas’ Orlando Panthers years and a long time coach at a number of Central Florida high schools. Also, David Brady who was a star offensive tackle for Tennessee after helping one of the strongest high school squads in Central Florida history, Merritt Island, win a state championship. Brady was the prime blocker for Leon Bright and Waldo Williams, two of the best-known runners in the state in the early ‘70s.
Joining Chandler on the defensive staff were Jack McCaskie, who coached linebackers, John Hemmer who worked with the defensive backs, big Lou Ross who shared some coordinator responsibilities with Chandler, Bernie Barbour who coached defensive backs with Hemmer, and Art Green who worked with defensive ends when he wasn’t working his shift with the Orlando Police Department.
Ross worked at Orlando International Airport. He was a giant in that era at 6 feet 8 and more than 260 pounds. Ross was a Jones High graduate and logged some roster time for the Buffalo Bills. The big guy had a legendary signature: He used to push an old Cadillac like a blocking sled.
Hemmer went on to become a Florida Track Hall of Fame coach leading Oak Ridge to five state championships and serving on U.S. Track & Field coaching staffs at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 1999 Seville World Championships. He was a product of St. Francis Prep in Brooklyn where Dan Henning was the quarterback.
Equipment manager was Ralph Mueller, among the volunteers was Bob Kessler, and best known of the business community-volunteer coaches was Bugsy Engelberg, who previously coached at Oakland and Buffalo and went on to be general manager of the Tampa Bay Bandits and Orlando Renegades. And he got the first TD on a pass to Bobby
“There were lots of great memories of those days,” Chandler said. “I remember during the first two-a-days we were put up in a dorm between practices, and we had to pay for our lunches at the student union. The coach’s office was basically a storage room in a storage building on the south side of the campus.
“There was not enough area for all of the coaches to meet comfortably so the defensive staff met in any place available. Sometimes we met in the old gym locker room, but our weekly meeting was usually held at the police station because Art [Green] was a police officer at the time.
“I remember there were some philosophical differences because we had a mixture of high school coaches, ex-college and professional players, and terminology was a constant problem. Some of the volunteers meant well and simply wanted to help but some, well they just didn’t really understand football but thought they did,” Chandler said.
He described one volunteer who was not a staff member who went to scout an opponent but came back and couldn’t tell the staff whether the quarterback was left-handed or right-handed.
Chandler said working with the staff was “the greatest learning experience coaching wise of my life.”
Bland’s memories center around the athletes he coached. “I really just remember the kids,” he said. “Mikey Stapp. Billy G (for Giovanetti). Eddie Gantner. We had so many good kids who for one reason or another ended up at UC… I mean Florida Tech. They enjoyed playing the game.”
Bland said he was just happy the school was starting a football program. And, he admits, he never envisioned the growth of the university and the program to today’s levels.
“Gosh, no. We were hoping that down the line it could become a decent program,” he said. “But we never thought about a stadium and playing on national television. We were thinking about getting ready to play Fort Benning and Saint Leo.”
Hemmer confirmed the short-term thinking. “We were trying to find people to put into positions,” he said. “We had 170 guys out there and 49 of them signed up for defensive backs and another 49 were wide receivers. I went to the line coaches and told them I had one kid who was 195 pounds and could play for them. They wanted to know why he couldn’t play in the secondary so I told ‘em he couldn’t run backwards. He wound up starting for two years.”
Jonas still remembers the potential of the team. “The most amazing thing is we should have gone undefeated,” he said. “We were pretty close to doing that.” The team finished 6-2.
Jonas based his belief on the following:
“Scott Ryerson was a heck of a kicker. [Mike] Cully [Cullison] did a heck of a job for us at quarterback. We had guys like Tommy Sparks, what a talent he was. And Gio [Billy Giovanetti] was some kind of hitter. We had some ball players.
The players help keep the past alive. Weir succeeded Jonas as interim head coach after the second year, leaving a stadium full of memories like the first touchdown [13-year Cullison to Bobby Joe Plain pass], the first victory [over St. Leo, 21-0], the camaraderie of the long bus/van rides, the emergence of successful alumni like Mike O’Shaughnessy.
The first year set several records for Division III attendance and the school reported a profit. Much of the fan success, Jonas believes, came as a direct result of the promotional talents of Steve Slack, a local businessman who got involved and got football fans involved with creative packaging. Slack also was the creator of the Zanies, which helped fill the then Tangerine Bowl endzone with fans.
“He was a big factor in our success and the future success,” Jonas said.
Jonas also remembered the work and the support from business leaders like Joe Cadden, Jake Stuart and Dan Zafran.
The fan base was started, the popularity was there. That equaled a full-time, paid coaching job for year two with more than 200 students trying out for the team. It may have started with a volunteer army, but now it was ready to grow into a program.
And when the program kicks off this year, in a brand-spanking new, on-campus, 45,000-seat Bright House Networks Stadium for its home schedule, well that certainly jogs Jonas’ memories.
“To have an opportunity to be a part of it, to help make it happen,” Jonas said. “That’s what I will remember the most.”
