Old Ironsides Trophy
Old Ironsides Trophy/The Big 3 of the East—
(the present whereabouts of this trophy is unknown)
Old Ironsides is, or was, a large cumbersome triangular metal monstrosity that was meant to be shared by the so-called Big 3 of the East—Penn State, Pitt, and West Virginia. The trophy was first awarded in 1951 to Pitt who had won the 3-way round-robin series that fall with the Nittany Lions and the Mountaineers. The three schools had begun playing each other in most seasons beginning in 1904.
Penn State first won Old Ironsides in 1952 and would officially claim it outright a total of 21 times compared to Pitt’s 6 and West Virginia’s 2 trophy wins. The trophy travelled and, in the event that no one team beat both of the others in the same year, it remained with the prior winner, sometimes for years on end. Penn State, at one point, won it outright for 10 straight years before losing it to Pitt in 1976.
The trophy was seldom mentioned by the media in post-game coverage. One of the rare mentions by the Daily Collegian came following the 1970 season-ending win over Pitt that clinched possession of Old Ironsides by PSU for the fifth straight season.
Penn State recovered the trophy from Pitt in 1981 with a 48-14 thrashing of the Panthers and was allegedly still in possession of it following the 1983 season when PSU beat WVU and tied Pitt. In 1984, West Virginia ended a three-decade drought by beating both Pitt and PSU in the same season for the first time since 1953. It was also WVU’s first victory over the Lions since 1955 and they wanted Old Ironsides. But reportedly, it was nowhere to be found. So, Old Ironsides simply passed into history never to be awarded again. By 1984, State was more focused on a national schedule driven by the likes of Alabama and Notre Dame. In 1993, PSU debuted in the Big Ten and the series with Pitt and West Virginia went largely dormant. Penn State has only played Pitt 8 times since 1992 (most recently in 2019 for the 100th meeting of the two) and has played West Virginia only twice in the same time period (most recently in 2024).
Had the trophy continued through the 1992 season, PSU would have won it outright 6 additional times (for a total of 27 outright wins of Old Ironsides) including the final four seasons from 1989-1992. Pitt would have won it one final time in 1987 outright for a total of 7, with West Virginia winning it outright in 1988 for a total of 3 trophies. The three teams have not played each other in the same season since PSU joined the Big Ten.
For the record: To date, PSU and Pitt have met 100 times with State winning 53 and tying 4. PSU and WVU have met 61 times with State winning 50 and tying 2.
Historic Note:
The first season in which Penn State, Pitt, and West Virginia all played each other was in 1904. Pitt, then known as WUP (Western University of Pennsylvania), went 10-0 that year including their first win ever over Penn State, 22-5 at Exposition Park in their first ever Thanksgiving Day game in Pittsburgh. After 9 shutouts, State was the only team able to score on WUP in 1904. It came on a rushing TD late in the game by halfback Irish McIlveen (the goal after touchdown kick was no good). Penn State College had won the prior 6 meetings with WUP beginning in 1893 with the first ever game to be played at Old Beaver Field (a 32-0 State victory).
State beat West Virginia in their first ever meeting in ‘04 by the score of 34-0 at Old Beaver Field. West Virginia became the first non-Pennsylvania team to ever play football in State College.
West Virginia and Pitt are two of the only three schools to have appeared in games at all 3 of Penn State’s “stadiums” (Old Beaver Field, New Beaver Field, & Beaver Stadium). Villanova is the other. None of these 3 teams played State on its original football field on Old Main lawn (1887-1892).