Walter John Zirinsky (August 1, 1920 – November 30, 2001) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

halfback who was a member of the

Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to ...

team that won the 1945 NFL Championship.

Early life and college

Walter John Zirinsky, known by the nickname "Walt," was born August 1, 1920, in

Northampton, Pennsylvania Northampton is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population was 10,395 as of the 2020 census. Northampton is located north of Allentown, northwest of Philadelphia, and west of New York City. The borough is par ...

."Walt Zirinsky,"
Pro-Football Reference.com, www.profootballarchives.com/ He was the son of Cyril Zirinsky and the former Mary Flisak."Walter J. Zirinsky: Obituary,"
''Morning Call,'' December 2, 2001. Zirinsky attended

Northampton Area High School Northampton Area High School is a public high school in the Northampton Area School District and located in Northampton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area of eastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had ...

, taking up the sport of

and excelled in it. Following his graduation from high school Zirinsky played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...

, where he was a halfback who also handled placekicking duties for the team. He was a star of the team from the 1940 season, scoring three touchdowns in a 46-0 route of arch-rival Lehigh that capped off an unbeaten year.

Professional career

Zirinsky was drafted by the

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

in the 1942 NFL draft, selected in the 12th round, the league's 102nd pick overall. However, Zirinsky enlisted in the Naval Air Corps during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, where he flew

blimps A non-rigid airship, commonly called a blimp ( /blɪmp/), is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of their lifting gas (usu ...

in the South Pacific.Feldman, Chic.
Walt Zirinsky of Lafayette Signed as Playing Mentor By Professional Grid Miners"
'' Scranton Tribune'', Scranton, Pennsylvania, May 26, 1946, Page 35. During the war years, he played football for a military service football team."Los Angeles Rams Add More Players,"
''New Philadelphia HDaily Times,'' March 30, 1946; page 5. He was discharged on October 8, 1945, as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. He was discharged in time to play in the

1945 NFL season The 1945 NFL season was the 26th regular season of the National Football League. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Chicago Cardinals resumed their traditional operations. The remains of the final Ohio League member Dayton Triangles, then know ...

, signing with the Rams, the team which held his draft rights. Zirinsky played in five of the ten games played by the Rams during the 1945 season, a campaign which culminated with the team's 15-14 victory over the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

in the 1945 NFL Championship Game. On the year he only carried the ball three times, gaining just three yards. Zirinsky signed a second NFL contract in March 1946 with Rams General Manager Chile Walsh to play for the team during their inaugural season in Los Angeles. This was not to be, however, as in April the Rams traded the Pennsylvania native Zirinsky to the NFL's

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

for fullback and punter Jack Banta, a native Californian who was a former collegiate star at

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. Zirinsky never played for the Eagles, however, and his NFL career came to an end with just the three carries for the Rams and participation on an NFL championship team to his credit. Zirinsky started all ten games for the Scranton Miners of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) in 1946, recording 75 carries for 300 yards and one touchdown, 17 receptions for 205 yards and one touchdown, eight interceptions, 37 punts for a 35.2 average, one kickoff return touchdown, and two extra points. The Miners finished the 1946 season with a 5–3–2 record, good for second place in the Western Division. Zirinsky played in all nine games, starting one, for the Bethlehem Bulldogs of the AFL in 1947 and scored two touchdowns and 18 extra points. The Bulldogs finished first in the Western Division with an 8–1 record, and beat the Paterson Panthers in the AFL title game by a score of 23–7.

Life after football

Zirinsky was married to the former Mary Laubach, with whom he had one son. Following his retirement from the NFL, Zirinsky worked as a department chief for

Western Electric Western Electric Co., Inc. was an American electrical engineering and manufacturing company that operated from 1869 to 1996. A subsidiary of the AT&T Corporation for most of its lifespan, Western Electric was the primary manufacturer, supplier, ...

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, where he worked for 37 years. Walt Zirinsky died November 30, 2001, in

Catasauqua, Pennsylvania Catasauqua, referred to colloquially as Catty, is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. Catasauqua's population was 6,518 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Allentown in the ...

. He was 81 years old at the time of his death. His family asked for donations to the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

in Zirinsky's memory.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zirinsky, Walt 1920 births 2001 deaths American football halfbacks American football defensive backs Cleveland Rams players Lafayette Leopards football players Military personnel from Pennsylvania Northampton Area High School alumni Players of American football from Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Northampton County, Pennsylvania United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II Philadelphia Eagles players American Association (American football) players