Bartosh took over for another Mojo coaching great, Gene Mayfield, after the team finished runner-up during the 1970 Class 4A State Championship game. During Bartosh’s two seasons as the Permian head coach, the Panthers logged a 23-1 record.
In the 1972 state title run, Permian shutout seven opponents in the 14-game unblemished season. The Panthers defense limited their rivals to an average of only 6.4 points per contest in post-season play. The season was capped off with a 37-7 dominating victory over Baytown Sterling at UT Austin’s Memorial Stadium. It would be the second of six state titles claimed by the Panthers.
Bartosh left Permian to be the running backs coach at Texas A&M for the 1973 season. A year later, he took over the head coaching responsibilities at the University of Texas – El Paso for three years. Prior to coming to Permian, Bartosh had high school head coaching stints from 1959-66 at Houston Milby, winning two district champion titles, and Houston Lee, where he picked up another pair of district titles. After spending three years as an assistant at Rice University, he became head coach for the Panthers.
Bartosh was a standout at Granger High School and considered the greatest player ever to come out of its football program. Dubbed the “Granger Ghost”, he led the Lions to a regional championship in 1947 and received his nickname for his performance during a fog-shrouded game against Rockdale. Bartosh played collegiate ball as quarterback at TCU in 1950. He’s currently the only player in Horned Frogs program history to lead the team in rushing and passing yards in the same season. Bartosh rushed for 710 yards, while throwing for 1,023 yards. He led the Southwest Conference in total offense his junior season in 1951, when he was also named an All-American. Bartosh was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the 1952 NFL Draft, but never played in the NFL. He did play for the CFL British Columbia Lions in 1955, leading the team in touchdowns.
He also served as an officer in the United States Navy during the Korean War and played service football for the Navy’s Yokosuka Seahawks. In 1954, Bartosh’s team capped a perfect season by going 11-0 and outscoring opponents by a combined total of 391-41. The team was crowned Central Command Conference champions, and he was named to the Central Command all-star team for his play in the offensive backfield.
Bartosh, who lived in Liberty Hill, was inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 1989 and is a member of the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor. Services were held at 10 a.m. Thursday in Georgetown, and the burial commenced in Granger. Survivors include his wife, son, five daughters, a brother, 14 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
