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Roll Call & a Trip Down Memory Lane: Frank Sokol's Unauthorized Pitt Sports Message Board

DT_PITT

DT_PITT

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The recent passing of friends California Panther, geno2u and Harve74 got me thinking about the days way back on the "original" Pitt sports message board -- Frank Sokol's Unauthorized Pitt Sports Message Board.

I'm not exactly sure when it started, but I got turned onto it in the middle of the 1996-1997 basketball season by a good friend (now known as @sumomann).

At the time, you didn't need to log on and/or sign in. One just posted a handle and some thoughts. It was a lot of fun and a little crazy at times. Posts from Pitt Football and Pitt Basketball were combined all on the same board.

At the same time as Frank's Board, the "Panther In the Lion's Cow Pasture" Board was around, and many of us "originals" posted on both.

I know that Harve74 and California Panther were posters then. Some others who I believe shared in the fun were @Black Panther, @pittizit, @Sean Miller Fan (then Belle Vernon Panther, yes?), @Panthervision (then Lou), @plcp, @Bethlehemjohn, and of course, @NTOP . There were others I recall from those days -- The Old Panther, Midnight Panther, Infoman, Boston Panther, Allstar Inc., "brian," and Harry the Pitt Guru (who was our first Board Maven), just to name a few. On this board, we talked about our excitement in the hiring of Walt Harris, and the ups and downs of Ralph Willard, among other things.

If I'm not mistaken, Frank's original board shut down sometime in 1999 or so, and we all migrated over to the PLCP board for a time, This is when we first started sharing posts with geno2u. In 2001, I believe this turned into the Rivals Panther Lair that it is today. There was a pretty good Scout Board for a while too, but the Lair persevered.

Here's the roll call … let us know if you were a poster back on Frank Sokol's Grand Old Message Board (and what your "handle" was then, if different than now).
 
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I was on the board back then but didn't post much under my old handle- Mr.MidnightBlue (my ode to Pitt and Reservoir Dogs).
 
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DiehardPanther - I was there in the beginning. The dial up connection. The recruiting blurbs are what I looked forward to the most back then.
 
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DT_PITT said:
The recent passing of friends California Panther, geno2u and Harve74 got me thinking about the days way back on the "original" Pitt sports message board -- Frank Sokol's Unauthorized Pitt Sports Message Board.

I'm not exactly sure when it started, but I got turned onto it in the middle of the 1996-1997 basketball season by a good friend (now known as @sumomann).

At the time, you didn't need to log on and/or sign in. One just posted a handle and some thoughts. It was a lot of fun and a little crazy at times. Posts from Pitt Football and Pitt Basketball were combined all on the same board.

At the same time as Frank's Board, the "Panther In the Lion's Cow Pasture" Board was around, and many of us "originals" posted on both.

I know that Harve74 and California Panther were posters then. Some others who I believe shared in the fun were @Black Panther, @pittizit, @Sean Miller Fan (then Belle Vernon Panther, yes?), @Panthervision (then Lou), @plcp, @Bethlehemjohn, and of course, @NTOP . There were others I recall from those days -- The Old Panther, Midnight Panther, Infoman, Boston Panther, Allstar Inc., "brian," and Harry the Pitt Guru (who was our first Board Maven), just to name a few. On this board, we talked about our excitement in the hiring of Walt Harris, and the ups and downs of Ralph Willard, among other things.

If I'm not mistaken, Frank's original board shut down sometime in 1999 or so, and we all migrated over to the PLCP board for a time, This is when we first started sharing posts with geno2u. In 2001, I believe this turned into the Rivals Panther Lair that it is today. There was a pretty good Scout Board for a while too, but the Lair persevered.

Here's the roll call … let us know if you were a poster back on Frank Sokol's Grand Old Message Board (and what your "handle" was then, if different than now).
Click to expand...
I’ve been posting under the same name starting back on those old boards. Also on the original boards were Pittman72, Gary77 and the late great Altoona Panther. AP was a dentist in Altoona and was on the front lines in our battles with Nit fans. He pissed them off so bad they posted his phone number on one of their boards.
 
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DT_PITT said:
The recent passing of friends California Panther, geno2u and Harve74 got me thinking about the days way back on the "original" Pitt sports message board -- Frank Sokol's Unauthorized Pitt Sports Message Board.

I'm not exactly sure when it started, but I got turned onto it in the middle of the 1996-1997 basketball season by a good friend (now known as @sumomann).

At the time, you didn't need to log on and/or sign in. One just posted a handle and some thoughts. It was a lot of fun and a little crazy at times. Posts from Pitt Football and Pitt Basketball were combined all on the same board.

At the same time as Frank's Board, the "Panther In the Lion's Cow Pasture" Board was around, and many of us "originals" posted on both.

I know that Harve74 and California Panther were posters then. Some others who I believe shared in the fun were @Black Panther, @pittizit, @Sean Miller Fan (then Belle Vernon Panther, yes?), @Panthervision (then Lou), @plcp, @Bethlehemjohn, and of course, @NTOP . There were others I recall from those days -- The Old Panther, Midnight Panther, Infoman, Boston Panther, Allstar Inc., "brian," and Harry the Pitt Guru (who was our first Board Maven), just to name a few. On this board, we talked about our excitement in the hiring of Walt Harris, and the ups and downs of Ralph Willard, among other things.

If I'm not mistaken, Frank's original board shut down sometime in 1999 or so, and we all migrated over to the PLCP board for a time, This is when we first started sharing posts with geno2u. In 2001, I believe this turned into the Rivals Panther Lair that it is today. There was a pretty good Scout Board for a while too, but the Lair persevered.

Here's the roll call … let us know if you were a poster back on Frank Sokol's Grand Old Message Board (and what your "handle" was then, if different than now).
Click to expand...

Yep. I was on there from the very start. Along with several others not listed above. Also some who have passed on, as well.

Same handle for me then as now. No reason to change, nor anything to hide from. :)
 
wbrpanther said:
I’ve been posting under the same name starting back on those old boards. Also on the original boards were Pittman72, Gary77 and the late great Altoona Panther. AP was a dentist in Altoona and was on the front lines in our battles with Nit fans. He pissed them off so bad they posted his phone number on one of their boards.
Click to expand...

Been nice if our old buddy Altoona could’ve gotten a few unsuspecting nitters in his chair. Might’ve looked like s scene from “Marathon Man”! ;)

A great guy. Think about him a lot. Our good friend Frank N, too. He went by Pitt1976.
 
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I was there, posted as "Maniac". I got abused when I suggested Jim Tressel as a potential coach. "We need a coach from a big program" I was told. I guess going to YSU erased the time he'd already spent on the staffs at OSU, and Cuse. o_O
 
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I am and was THE Atlanta Panther. One correction to DT’s OP. There were actually TWO “Unauthorized Pitt Message Boards” - one for FB and one for BB. After the “Panther in the Lion’s Cow Pasture” (PLCP) board. I think after that is when the Pantherlair board started ( I was one of the people asked to moderate along with the California Panther and others (I still have the Pantherlair hat - that was the moderator’s pay back then!). Rivals then bought the site and changed the name to Panther-lair. But it’s been a fun ride and it’s been a great time getting to know many there thru the site and some in person. I so enjoy coming to the board after a big win or a top recruit says “Yes to Pitt” and sometimes have to avoid it after a bad loss. Optimistic for the future for Pitt and the Panther-lair. !
 
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Atlanta Panther said:
I am and was THE Atlanta Panther. One correction to DT’s OP. There were actually TWO “Unauthorized Pitt Message Boards” - one for FB and one for BB. After the “Panther in the Lion’s Cow Pasture” (PLCP) board. I think after that is when the Pantherlair board started ( I was one of the people asked to moderate along with the California Panther and others (I still have the Pantherlair hat - that was the moderator’s pay back then!). Rivals then bought the site and changed the name to Panther-lair. But it’s been a fun ride and it’s been a great time getting to know many there thru the site and some in person. I so enjoy coming to the board after a big win or a top recruit says “Yes to Pitt” and sometimes have to avoid it after a bad loss. Optimistic for the future for Pitt and the Panther-lair. !
Click to expand...

If I recall correctly, football and hoops were together on one message board on Frank’s site, but there were definitely separate football and hoops boards on PLCP. I remember it this way because before I did hoops “Dribbles,” I started off by doing a similar thing with both hoops and football thoughts together on Frank's board, because both items were discussed on the board at the same time. It was kinda based on Smizik's weekly column titled "loose items from a tight leaf notebook," or Gene Collier's "some things I think I think."

That's my memory anyway, and usually I'm pretty good about remember things such as this. But it was 23 or so years ago so ...
 
DT_PITT said:
The recent passing of friends California Panther, geno2u and Harve74 got me thinking about the days way back on the "original" Pitt sports message board -- Frank Sokol's Unauthorized Pitt Sports Message Board.

I'm not exactly sure when it started, but I got turned onto it in the middle of the 1996-1997 basketball season by a good friend (now known as @sumomann).

At the time, you didn't need to log on and/or sign in. One just posted a handle and some thoughts. It was a lot of fun and a little crazy at times. Posts from Pitt Football and Pitt Basketball were combined all on the same board.

At the same time as Frank's Board, the "Panther In the Lion's Cow Pasture" Board was around, and many of us "originals" posted on both.

I know that Harve74 and California Panther were posters then. Some others who I believe shared in the fun were @Black Panther, @pittizit, @Sean Miller Fan (then Belle Vernon Panther, yes?), @Panthervision (then Lou), @plcp, @Bethlehemjohn, and of course, @NTOP . There were others I recall from those days -- The Old Panther, Midnight Panther, Infoman, Boston Panther, Allstar Inc., "brian," and Harry the Pitt Guru (who was our first Board Maven), just to name a few. On this board, we talked about our excitement in the hiring of Walt Harris, and the ups and downs of Ralph Willard, among other things.

If I'm not mistaken, Frank's original board shut down sometime in 1999 or so, and we all migrated over to the PLCP board for a time, This is when we first started sharing posts with geno2u. In 2001, I believe this turned into the Rivals Panther Lair that it is today. There was a pretty good Scout Board for a while too, but the Lair persevered.

Here's the roll call … let us know if you were a poster back on Frank Sokol's Grand Old Message Board (and what your "handle" was then, if different than now).
Click to expand...
I was Cranberry Panther until some douche stole my handle. Good times.
 
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Yes I was on that board. Don’t post a lot but read this board daily. Glad I introduced you to the board DT. Where would I be without your occasional love for molly hatchet and the great Demetrius Gore
 
I believe I was not posting until the early days of this Board. I did post here and on that Scout Board when it was doing well. I probably got active about the time Ben Howland became head coach and people began grumbling about Walt Harris not getting Pitt back to being a top ten team in FB. Early 2000s?
 
DT_PITT said:

↑



The recent passing of friends California Panther, geno2u and Harve74 got me thinking about the days way back on the "original" Pitt sports message board -- Frank Sokol's Unauthorized Pitt Sports Message Board.

I'm not exactly sure when it started, but I got turned onto it in the middle of the 1996-1997 basketball season by a good friend (now known as @sumomann).

At the time, you didn't need to log on and/or sign in. One just posted a handle and some thoughts. It was a lot of fun and a little crazy at times. Posts from Pitt Football and Pitt Basketball were combined all on the same board.

At the same time as Frank's Board, the "Panther In the Lion's Cow Pasture" Board was around, and many of us "originals" posted on both.

I know that Harve74 and California Panther were posters then. Some others who I believe shared in the fun were @Black Panther, @pittizit, @Sean Miller Fan (then Belle Vernon Panther, yes?), @Panthervision (then Lou), @plcp, @Bethlehemjohn, and of course, @NTOP . There were others I recall from those days -- The Old Panther, Midnight Panther, Infoman, Boston Panther, Allstar Inc., "brian," and Harry the Pitt Guru (who was our first Board Maven), just to name a few. On this board, we talked about our excitement in the hiring of Walt Harris, and the ups and downs of Ralph Willard, among other things.

If I'm not mistaken, Frank's original board shut down sometime in 1999 or so, and we all migrated over to the PLCP board for a time, This is when we first started sharing posts with geno2u. In 2001, I believe this turned into the Rivals Panther Lair that it is today. There was a pretty good Scout Board for a while too, but the Lair persevered.

Here's the roll call … let us know if you were a poster back on Frank Sokol's Grand Old Message Board (and what your "handle" was then, if different than now).[/quote]

I read Sokol’s board back then. Mike83
 
Hard for me to remember but I believe I was on the scout board starting in 2000, migrated over here in 2004.
 
I was there back then, with the same name.

And going back even further, my original internet account back in 1994 (iirc) was with Prodigy. They had sports message boards on their service. There were some Pitt fans that posted stuff on there, including the mother of one of the football players.
 
Pretty sure I was on that board. I started in 1998 - I remember a good friend and fellow Pitt fanatic giving me the web address for this thing called a Pitt message board.
 
Mike83 said:
DT_PITT said:

↑



The recent passing of friends California Panther, geno2u and Harve74 got me thinking about the days way back on the "original" Pitt sports message board -- Frank Sokol's Unauthorized Pitt Sports Message Board.

I'm not exactly sure when it started, but I got turned onto it in the middle of the 1996-1997 basketball season by a good friend (now known as @sumomann).

At the time, you didn't need to log on and/or sign in. One just posted a handle and some thoughts. It was a lot of fun and a little crazy at times. Posts from Pitt Football and Pitt Basketball were combined all on the same board.

At the same time as Frank's Board, the "Panther In the Lion's Cow Pasture" Board was around, and many of us "originals" posted on both.

I know that Harve74 and California Panther were posters then. Some others who I believe shared in the fun were @Black Panther, @pittizit, @Sean Miller Fan (then Belle Vernon Panther, yes?), @Panthervision (then Lou), @plcp, @Bethlehemjohn, and of course, @NTOP . There were others I recall from those days -- The Old Panther, Midnight Panther, Infoman, Boston Panther, Allstar Inc., "brian," and Harry the Pitt Guru (who was our first Board Maven), just to name a few. On this board, we talked about our excitement in the hiring of Walt Harris, and the ups and downs of Ralph Willard, among other things.

If I'm not mistaken, Frank's original board shut down sometime in 1999 or so, and we all migrated over to the PLCP board for a time, This is when we first started sharing posts with geno2u. In 2001, I believe this turned into the Rivals Panther Lair that it is today. There was a pretty good Scout Board for a while too, but the Lair persevered.

Here's the roll call … let us know if you were a poster back on Frank Sokol's Grand Old Message Board (and what your "handle" was then, if different than now).
Click to expand...

I read Sokol’s board back then. Mike83[/QUOTE]

I was thinking about you a game or so ago. Have you been going to games?
 
DT_PITT said:
The recent passing of friends California Panther, geno2u and Harve74 got me thinking about the days way back on the "original" Pitt sports message board -- Frank Sokol's Unauthorized Pitt Sports Message Board.

I'm not exactly sure when it started, but I got turned onto it in the middle of the 1996-1997 basketball season by a good friend (now known as @sumomann).

At the time, you didn't need to log on and/or sign in. One just posted a handle and some thoughts. It was a lot of fun and a little crazy at times. Posts from Pitt Football and Pitt Basketball were combined all on the same board.

At the same time as Frank's Board, the "Panther In the Lion's Cow Pasture" Board was around, and many of us "originals" posted on both.

I know that Harve74 and California Panther were posters then. Some others who I believe shared in the fun were @Black Panther, @pittizit, @Sean Miller Fan (then Belle Vernon Panther, yes?), @Panthervision (then Lou), @plcp, @Bethlehemjohn, and of course, @NTOP . There were others I recall from those days -- The Old Panther, Midnight Panther, Infoman, Boston Panther, Allstar Inc., "brian," and Harry the Pitt Guru (who was our first Board Maven), just to name a few. On this board, we talked about our excitement in the hiring of Walt Harris, and the ups and downs of Ralph Willard, among other things.

If I'm not mistaken, Frank's original board shut down sometime in 1999 or so, and we all migrated over to the PLCP board for a time, This is when we first started sharing posts with geno2u. In 2001, I believe this turned into the Rivals Panther Lair that it is today. There was a pretty good Scout Board for a while too, but the Lair persevered.

Here's the roll call … let us know if you were a poster back on Frank Sokol's Grand Old Message Board (and what your "handle" was then, if different than now).
Click to expand...
I have been on Frank's board and Crazy Paco since 1996. I don't remember what my handle was before the Pantherlair. Wonder what happened to Brian. He was the original message board antagonist.
 
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Before the Pitt message boards, my grandpa and I who live in Lansing, got Pitt info in a few ways only.
1) A Pitt athletic color brochure with articles about all the teams every month.
2) The large media guides before season started.
3) Post Gazette in print through the mail which meant we got it 2 days late.
4) In late 1980's for getting recruit info by calling a recruiting hotline for $1.50 a minute to hear who we were recruiting and their other offers.

The greatest thing ever for out town Pitt fans was the internet and all the Pitt news, getting to discuss issues on message boards, listen to games, and now to watch every game.
 
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"You've got mail"!! Man, the internet was so exciting back then. I couldn't wait to log on every evening. It was the new frontier. Obviously the amount of content, and the capabilities of the computers, and what can be done online today, makes those old days seem like comparing a Model T to a current Mercedes, but those early days were just so much fun.
 
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Joe the Panther Fan said:
I was there back then, with the same name.

And going back even further, my original internet account back in 1994 (iirc) was with Prodigy. They had sports message boards on their service. There were some Pitt fans that posted stuff on there, including the mother of one of the football players.
Click to expand...

Prodigy. Now there's a memory!
 
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PittMan 72 said:
Been nice if our old buddy Altoona could’ve gotten a few unsuspecting nitters in his chair. Might’ve looked like s scene from “Marathon Man”! ;)

A great guy. Think about him a lot. Our good friend Frank N, too. He went by Pitt1976.
Click to expand...
I genuinely miss Jack. He was one of the good ones. He was like a silent assassin with his wit. i loved how we would tease him about how he used to beat up Mike Reid in high school.
 
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I was never on Sokol. I started back on hailtopitt.com after someone gave me a flyer for it after a game at the Field House in the early 2000s.
 
rockypanther said:
Before the Pitt message boards, my grandpa and I who live in Lansing, got Pitt info in a few ways only.
1) A Pitt athletic color brochure with articles about all the teams every month.
2) The large media guides before season started.
3) Post Gazette in print through the mail which meant we got it 2 days late.
4) In late 1980's for getting recruit info by calling a recruiting hotline for $1.50 a minute to hear who we were recruiting and their other offers.

The greatest thing ever for out town Pitt fans was the internet and all the Pitt news, getting to discuss issues on message boards, listen to games, and now to watch every game.
Click to expand...
Mike [blue and] White ran a pay phone recruiting service. It was a waste of money and the internet put that Joepa lover out of business.
 
rockypanther said:
Before the Pitt message boards, my grandpa and I who live in Lansing, got Pitt info in a few ways only.
1) A Pitt athletic color brochure with articles about all the teams every month.
2) The large media guides before season started.
3) Post Gazette in print through the mail which meant we got it 2 days late.
4) In late 1980's for getting recruit info by calling a recruiting hotline for $1.50 a minute to hear who we were recruiting and their other offers.

The greatest thing ever for out town Pitt fans was the internet and all the Pitt news, getting to discuss issues on message boards, listen to games, and now to watch every game.
Click to expand...

Yeah, getting recruiting info in those days was sketchy for sure. Even tougher for out of owners like you, but also not easy or timely for locals. Had to rely on what Mike White chose to write in the paper. Because I wasn't about to pay to hear his "Hike Line".

There were pamphlets and newsletters published in those days. Joe Terranova. Tom Lemming. They'd do a recap issue after NLI day. I'd always get the USA Today edition the day after NLI day to see their list summarizing the signings for all the college teams. But there was very little "real time" recrutitng info.

Occasionally there would be a recruiting guy on the radio. But not real often. Ralph Conde would sometimes have someone on his show on Saturday mornings on 620 AM out of Greensburg. But Ralph was so technologically challenged he'd often cut the recruiting guy off by pushing the wrong button on his phone.

Hard to imagine going back to that now. Or only being able to access things on a wired device before smart devices. Just like it's hard to imagine the times when there were only a couple of college football games on tv on a Saturday and teams were limited to being on tv no more than 3 times a season. So fans have it a lot better now. But it's fun to think back and reminisce.
 
Last edited:
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wbrpanther said:
Anyone remember Drew Freund? I bet he s still on the board under a different name.
Click to expand...

I don't know if he was on Frank's Board but I think he was on the PLCP board and the Rivals Board in the early 2000's.
 
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