By Brian Kopycinski
From Tony Dorsett and Dan Marino, to Roger Kingdom and Billy Knight, the University of Pittsburgh has produced a number of elite athletes. One that’s been overshadowed among these greats is Sam Clancy, a rare example of a college basketball star turned NFL regular. Clancy, born in Pittsburgh, grew up in the Hill District and attended Fifth Avenue High. His remarkable career in professional sports deserves to be talked about in the same light as those mentioned previously, as one of the greatest Pitt Panthers of all time.
A product of Pittsburgh’s City League, Clancy won the 1976 Class AAA state championship, scoring 22 points in Fifth Avenue’s 53-42 victory over Norristown, finishing the season undefeated. Clancy also played tight end on his high school’s football team. After Fifth Avenue closed, Clancy was a member of Brashear High’s first graduating class in 1977.
Recruited by notable programs such as NC State and Ohio State, it was another Pitt legend, Tony Dorsett, a Western Pennsylvania native himself, that convinced Clancy to stay home for college. Coming to Pitt, he was an undersized center joining a team that had slipped since Billy Knight’s 1973-74 team finished No. 16 in the AP poll. Back then, the Panthers played in the Eastern 8, now the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Over the next four years, Clancy would bring the Panthers to relevance once again, culminating in an Eastern 8 tournament championship in 1981, defeating rival Duquesne, and subsequent NCAA Tournament appearance, where Pitt fell in the quarter-final round to the North Carolina Tar Heels. One of the highlights of Clancy’s Pitt career was beating No. 3 ranked Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium his sophomore year, where in the final seconds he recorded a steal, ran down the court, missed a jump shot, but got the rebound and scored the winning bucket.
Clancy also represented his country in the 1979 Pan American Games, under legendary Indiana coach Bobby Knight, on a squad that featured Isiah Thomas, Kevin McHale and Ralph Sampson. Team USA went undefeated to win gold at Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Clancy is the only player in Pitt history to record over 1,000 points (1,671) and 1,000 rebounds (1,362). He also leads the program in career double-doubles and rebounds.
After a stellar collegiate career at Pitt, including four winning seasons, Clancy averaged a double-double (14.4 points, 11.6 rebounds) and never missed a game. He was drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the 1981 NBA Draft in the 3rd round, 62nd overall. Clancy was one of the last players cut by the team, blocked by veteran power forward Truck Robinson, a two-time NBA All-Star. Clancy continued his basketball career with the Billings (Montana) Volcanos of the Continental Basketball Association, averaging 11.5 points and 8.3 rebounds before the franchise folded that summer.
His unique journey to the NFL began soon after. Clancy had worked out with the Pitt football team for a few weeks one spring, having caught the attention of head coach Jackie Sherrill. He lined up at end with the second-string defense, and faced off against Russ Grimm and Mark May, two future Super Bowl champions, one (Grimm) a Hall of Famer. While in Billings, Clancy was contacted by Chuck Allen of the Seattle Seahawks. He was drafted as a tight end in the 11th round, 284th overall in the 1982 NFL Draft, despite not having played a snap of college football.
After his rookie year with the Seahawks, Clancy switched to the defensive line, with former first-round pick Jacob Green taking him under his wing. Clancy’s first sack came in the postseason, a knockdown of Broncos QB Steve DeBerg in the Seahawks dominant victory in the Wild Card game. Seattle would go on to defeat Miami the following week before falling to the Los Angeles Raiders in the AFC Conference Championship. In 1984, Clancy joined the USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers, returning home to a better salary.
In their only year of existence, save for the 2022 USFL revival, the original Maulers were one of the worst teams in the league, finishing a dismal 3-15. To his credit, Clancy was one of the best pass rushers in the league, tied for the second most sacks that season with 16. Led by Penn State’s Chuck Fusina, the Philadelphia Stars were champions over the Arizona Wranglers. Clancy played for the Memphis Showboats in 1985, teaming up with the “Minister of Defense”, Reggie White.
After the conclusion of the USFL season, the Seahawks, who still retained Clancy’s rights, traded him to the Cleveland Browns for their 1986 7th round pick. Seattle eventually selected Nebraska running back Paul Miles that year, who would never play a down in the NFL. For the Browns, this seemingly insignificant trade ended up being a smashing success. Clancy’s best years came in Cleveland, under head coach and Pitt alum Marty Schottenheimer, that saw the Browns reach two AFC Championship games, both coming against the Denver Broncos. Clancy recorded 6.5 sacks in his second season with the Browns. He took down John Elway in the conference championship, an iconic game best known for “The Drive”, that saw Elway lead his team 98 yards down the field in the final minutes to send it to overtime, resulting in a Denver victory.
The same outcome would be the eventual result of the 1987 season for the Browns, another heartbreaking defeat to Elway and the Broncos. Clancy remained in Cleveland for another year, then signed with the Indianapolis Colts, a team loaded with talent that looked to be on the rise. For Clancy, these years were the hardest, as the Eric Dickerson and Jeff George led Colts failed to live up to the billing as a contender in the AFC, finishing an abysmal 1-15 for the 1991 season. Despite this, Clancy remained a productive player, achieving a career high of 7.5 sacks for the 1990 campaign. One of Clancy’s teammates on the defensive line in Indianapolis was another Pitt legend, Tony Siragusa.
At Pitt, Clancy was three times an AP All-American Honorable Mention. A college basketball star who hadn’t touched the gridiron since high school, he played twelve seasons of professional football, recording 30 sacks in the NFL. Clancy came close to appearing in the Super Bowl twice with the Cleveland Browns. For his two seasons in the USFL, he was one of its top defensive players.
The only other direct comparisons to Clancy are Kent State’s Antonio Gates, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, and Mo Alie-Cox out of VCU, who’s been with the Indianapolis Colts for nine seasons now. There’s also Dave Winfield, who played baseball and basketball in college at Minnesota, who was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1973. Brian Jordan, who also never played college football, similarly had a long career in major league baseball, as well as a brief stint with the Atlanta Falcons.
Clancy went on to become a defensive lines coach after his playing days were done. In 1997, he won NFL Europe’s World Bowl with the Barcelona Dragons. He has also served on the coaching staffs of the New Orleans Saints and the Oakland Raiders. Clancy completed his bachelor’s degree in social sciences at Pitt in 2005. He is in his 14th year as director of the Varsity Letter Club. Earlier this year, the Pitt Panthers basketball team retired Clancy’s jersey #15. He and his wife Terri live in Oakdale, have five children and ten grandchildren. His son Sam Jr., a standout at USC, enjoyed a long career in professional basketball overseas and has since transitioned to coaching.
What Sam Clancy did between college and the pros is simply incredible. He is without a doubt one of the finest to ever wear the blue and gold.