Lehigh Welcomes Back 1977 National Championship Football Team
10/19/2017 2:48:00 PM | Football, Support
Watch: Mike Rieker on Lehigh Sports Central
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh Athletics welcomed back members of its 1977 National Championship football team last weekend in celebration of the 40th anniversary of their national title.
The weekend-long celebration began Friday night with nearly 40 guests at the Lehigh Football 1977 National Championship Team Cocktail Reception at the Weyhill Guest House at Saucon Valley Country Club. Among those in attendance were 25 team members plus assistant coaches Joe Sterrett and John Luckhardt and Bernice Whitehead, widow of national championship head coach John Whitehead.
On Saturday, some 70-plus guests including 35 team members attended a pregame tailgate prior to Lehigh's 54-35 win over Georgetown. The entire team was recognized during a halftime ceremony, while All-America wide receiver Steve Kreider '79 was interviewed on the Service Electric telecast. Earlier in the week, All-America quarterback Mike Rieker '78 discussed the 1977 championship season ahead of the reunion on an episode of Lehigh Sports Central, presented by Coordinated Health.
The then-Engineers posted a 12-2 record and closed the season on an eight-game winning streak that included a 35-17 home win over Lafayette, followed by three consecutive wins in the NCAA Division II playoffs, capped by a 33-0 rout of Jacksonville State in the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas to claim Lehigh's only national championship in football.
With captains Rieker and Greg Clark leading the way, Lehigh also captured its fifth of eight Lambert Cup trophies as the top football team in the East. The co-captains were two of eleven senior starters on that team, including running backs Lennie Daniels and Dave Aprill, guards Jim Schulze and Tom Stine, linebacker Keith Frederick, defensive end Glenn Skola, defensive tackle Tom Giordani, halfback Pete Fenton and safety Steve Hefele. Rieker and Kreider were both recognized as Associated Press All-Americans that season.
The 1977 team has remained extremely close over the last 40 years and the group carries a tremendous sense of pride for their accomplishments. Teammates who had not connected for long periods of time were able to pick up right where they left off, in celebration of the national championship season.
(10/19/2017) 1977 Football Team Reunion, 10/14/17
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh Athletics welcomed back members of its 1977 National Championship football team last weekend in celebration of the 40th anniversary of their national title.
The weekend-long celebration began Friday night with nearly 40 guests at the Lehigh Football 1977 National Championship Team Cocktail Reception at the Weyhill Guest House at Saucon Valley Country Club. Among those in attendance were 25 team members plus assistant coaches Joe Sterrett and John Luckhardt and Bernice Whitehead, widow of national championship head coach John Whitehead.
On Saturday, some 70-plus guests including 35 team members attended a pregame tailgate prior to Lehigh's 54-35 win over Georgetown. The entire team was recognized during a halftime ceremony, while All-America wide receiver Steve Kreider '79 was interviewed on the Service Electric telecast. Earlier in the week, All-America quarterback Mike Rieker '78 discussed the 1977 championship season ahead of the reunion on an episode of Lehigh Sports Central, presented by Coordinated Health.
The then-Engineers posted a 12-2 record and closed the season on an eight-game winning streak that included a 35-17 home win over Lafayette, followed by three consecutive wins in the NCAA Division II playoffs, capped by a 33-0 rout of Jacksonville State in the Pioneer Bowl in Wichita Falls, Texas to claim Lehigh's only national championship in football.
With captains Rieker and Greg Clark leading the way, Lehigh also captured its fifth of eight Lambert Cup trophies as the top football team in the East. The co-captains were two of eleven senior starters on that team, including running backs Lennie Daniels and Dave Aprill, guards Jim Schulze and Tom Stine, linebacker Keith Frederick, defensive end Glenn Skola, defensive tackle Tom Giordani, halfback Pete Fenton and safety Steve Hefele. Rieker and Kreider were both recognized as Associated Press All-Americans that season.
The 1977 team has remained extremely close over the last 40 years and the group carries a tremendous sense of pride for their accomplishments. Teammates who had not connected for long periods of time were able to pick up right where they left off, in celebration of the national championship season.
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