Purdue Football will celebrate the 1959 and 1984 teams during Varsity P Club weekend, October 2-3, 2009. The 50^th and 25^th anniversaries of these great seasons are a testament to the periods of success that Purdue University has had and continues to have in the sport of football. Those alumni who return for the celebration will enjoy a weekend full of activities including golf, tailgating, on-field recognition and a great day of Boilermaker football.  Fellow Purdue football alumni and former Boilermaker student-athletes will join the 50th and 25th anniversary teams during Varsity P Club weekend.  

50^th Anniversary Team - Purdue Football ‘59

The 1959 Purdue football team will be honored during Varsity P Club weekend, October 2-3, 2009. The 1959 team won two of its first three Big Ten games and had fans talking Rose Bowl. One of the victories was a 21-0 blanking of ninth-ranked Wisconsin at Ross-Ade Stadium on October 10^th that snapped a 10-game winless streak (nine losses and one tie) against the Badgers and moved Purdue to sixth in the national rankings. But another tie, 7-7 at Illinois on Halloween, essentially did in the Boilermakers in their quest for roses. The deadlock was the sixth in 33 games under head coach Jack Mollenkopf. Purdue wound up tied for third in the Big Ten Conference with Illinois at 4-2-1, behind Wisconsin (5-2) and Michigan State (4-2). Overall, the Boilermakers finished the season with a 5-2-2 record, their third straight winning season under Mollenkopf. Purdue was 4-0 at home in Ross-Ade Stadium in 1959.

25^th Anniversary Team - Purdue Football ‘84

The 1984 Purdue football team will be honored during Varsity P Club weekend, October 2-3, 2009. Back-to-back three-win seasons in 1982 and 1983 had the Purdue faithful growing restless. "Anytime you lose, you’re going to catch it," head coach Leon Burtnett said. "The first year, fans will tolerate you. The second year, they want to see improvement. It was hard on my players, hard on my coaches, hard on me and hard on my family. There were times when I wondered if it was all worth it."

Burtnett never quit fighting and reaped the benefits with a memorable season in 1984. It began with a come-from-behind 23-21 victory over eighth-ranked Notre Dame in the dedication game of the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis on September 8. Junior defensive end Don Baldwin secured the win when he intercepted a Steve Beuerlein screen pass at the Notre Dame 35-yard line with 2:25 remaining. Purdue had 12 players on the field, which would have nullified the interception, but the referees failed to notice. Junior quarterback Jim Everett, who was named Purdue’s starter of the day before the opener, completed 20 of 28 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns to earn Sports Illustrated National Offensive Player of the Week honors.

During that game, Burtnett waved a towel to engage the Purdue fans, and by the time the Boilermakers played host to second-ranked Ohio State on October 6, "Leon’s Towels" were being distributed by the thousands, turning Ross-Ade Stadium into a sea of gold. In early November, though, the Big Ten supervisor of officials told Burtnett that he no longer could wave his gold towel because it is against conference rules for a coach to incite a crowd.

Purdue upset Ohio State 28-23 behind the play of Everett and sophomore free safety Rod Woodson. Everett completed 17 of 23 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns, while Woodson registered 20 tackles and a 55-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. The win put the Boilermakers 4-1 overall, atop the Big Ten at 3-0 and into the Associated Press poll at No. 14.

"Pinch me, and tell me it’s not a dream," Burtnett said afterward. "Now, instead of being the hunter, I guess we are going to be the hunted. We’re not going to be able to sneak up on people now. I think teams realize they have to prepare for us with earnest."

Back-to-back losses stemmed the tide, but Purdue rebounded with a 49-7 victory at Northwestern on October 27 and a 31-29 win over Michigan at Ross-Ade Stadium the following week. Everett was red hot against the Wolverines, completing 23 of 32 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns. By beating Michigan, Notre Dame, and Ohio State, the 1984 Boilermakers joined Michigan State, in 1951 and 1965, as the only teams to defeat those three traditional powerhouses in the same season.

The Boilermakers wrapped up the regular season with a 31-24 victory over Indiana at home on November 17 - resulting in a 7-4 overall record and 6-3 Big Ten mark, good for a second-place tie with Illinois - and accepted their second invitation to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on New Year’s Eve. Their opponent was the University of Virginia, and Purdue raced to a 24-14 first-half advantage before the Cavaliers stormed back to win 27-24.

Everett set school season records for passing attempts (431), completions (249) and yards (3,256).

Burtnett, who removed himself from calling the offensive or defensive schemes and concentrated on the mood of the team and getting his players mentally prepared to play, was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year and the Region Three Coach of the Year.