Mike Sebastian - College Career

College Career

Mike earned a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, where he again starred in both sports and earned a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh where he played as a fullback and earned All-American recognition in 1932 and 1933. While at Pitt, Sebastian helped the Panthers to a shared National Championship in 1931.

On November 5, 1932, Sebastian faked a pass, cut for the west sidelines, reversed his field, for a 45-yard touchdown run against a heavily favored Notre Dame. Pitt would go on to win the game 12-0 for the first victory in the rivialry. That same year Mike caught a ball for 52 yards in a 0-0 contest against Ohio State. Sportswriter John Dietrich of The Plain Dealer later called the game "one of the thrillers of a lifetime."

Sebastian contributed to a hard-fought 19-12 Pitt victory over Penn by catching a 27-yard touchdown pass late in the game. On October 28, 1933, Sebastian's 75-yard touchdown run highlighted a 14-0 win over Duke. In 1930, and again in 1933, he played in the Rose Bowl, which resulted in a 47-14 and 35-0 losses to the University of Southern California.

In 1934 Mike played, and was the starting running back, in the first College All-Star Game. The game which became a tradition from 1934 until 1974 was played between the National Football League champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. That very first game, was played on August 31, 1934 before a crowd of 79,432 at Chicago's Soldier Field. The game resulted in a scoreless tie between the all-stars and the Chicago Bears. That year Sebastian also played in the second East-West Shrine Game in Chicago. The game featured an "East Team" versus a "West Team" of College Football Stars. Mike played on the East Team due to Pitt's location in the eastern United States.