James C. “Pancho” Villa, Class of ‘58
James C. “Pancho” Villa has been selected as one of the 16 charter members of Allegheny College’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Villa was a football standout at Allegheny from 1955 through 1957.
A 1958 graduate of Allegheny with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology, Villa played three years on the football squad, earning varsity letters all three years and served as captain of the squad his final year.
Villa was named to many all-star teams throughout the country, set many new Allegheny records, and was even drafted by the Baltimore Colts professional football team in the eleventh round in 1956.
Villa was named in both 1956 and 1957 to the All-District Team as fullback and to the All-State both years as well. In 1956, Villa was also named to the Little All-American Honorable Mention Squad and in both 1956 and 1957 he was selected to the All-American Methodist College Team at fullback
For each of his three seasons with the Gators, Villa led the team in scoring, with 30, 90, and 48 points, respectively. He totaled 174 points, placing him fourth on Allegheny’s All-Time Career Football Scoring List at the time.
He remains the only player on Allegheny’s Scoring List of player scoring 100 points of more who played less than four seasons. Villa ranked fourth on the list behind C. Arthur Dahl, ’26 (182 points), Albert F. Munhall, ’16 (184 points), and Robert M. Garbark, “32 (182 points). Garbark will also become a charter member of Allegheny’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
For nearly 20 years Villa stood fourth on the Career scoring list, but in 1976 Tibor Solymosi, “77 tallied 212 points and in 1977 Mark Matlak, ’78 chaulked up 186 points. Villa currently ranks sixth on the list.
Playing under William R. “Red” Moore, Villa led squads to 2-6, 4-31, and 3-4-1 records, respectively in 1955 through 1957.
Villa is a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. Originally from North East, Pa., Villa attended North East Joint High School.
