Albert Felix Pierotti (October 24, 1895 – February 12, 1964) was an American professional athlete. He played

gridiron football Gridiron football ( ),"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' ...

as a center, and baseball as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. His career spanned 1920–1929 in football, and 1920–1921 in major-league baseball.

Early years

Pierotti was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

on October 24, 1895, and attended school in

Everett, Massachusetts Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States census. Everett was the last city in the ...

. He pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

for Everett High School in 1914. Pierotti then attended

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

, where he was captain of the Generals football team, president of the athletic association, and chairman of the athletic council. He earned

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. A person who ...

s in four sports—football, basketball, baseball, and track—and was a member of

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...

. In 1918, Pierotti coached the football team at

Tufts Tufts University is a private research university in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts, United States, with additional facilities in Boston and Grafton, as well as Talloires, France. Tufts also has several Doctor of Physical Therapy progr ...

; the team compiled a record of two wins and three losses. Washington and Lee University lists Pierotti as a member of the class of 1923, having first entered the school in 1914. He appears as a senior in the 1922 yearbook, which notes that he left school in 1917 "and made five attempts to enter the Service, being turned down each time." It is not clear when he returned to complete his degree. He appears in a list of students awarded a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in June 1923.

Football career

Pierotti played in the

American Professional Football Association The National Football League (NFL) is a 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 Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

(APFA) during 1920 and 1921 with the

Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional American football, football team that played in Akron, Ohio, Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-professional, semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros ...

, Cleveland Tigers and the New York Brickley Giants. Pierotti was a member of the

1920 APFA season The 1920 APFA season was the inaugural season of the American Professional Football Association, renamed the National Football League in 1922. An agreement to form a league was made by four independent teams from Ohio on August 20, 1920, at ...

champions with Akron. When the AFPA became 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 ...

(NFL) in 1922, Pierotti went on to play with the

Milwaukee Badgers The Milwaukee Badgers were a professional American football team, based in Milwaukee, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Milwaukee ...

and Racine Legion through 1924. In 1926, Pierotti played for the Boston Bulldogs 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), an NFL rival started by

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American professional American football, football Halfback (American football), halfback who played for the Chicag ...

and his agent C. C. Pyle. After the Bulldogs folded, Pierotti played

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

football for the University of Peabody. He returned to the NFL in 1927 with the

Providence Steamrollers The Providence Steamrollers were a Basketball Association of America team based in Providence, Rhode Island. As of 2025, the Steamrollers were the last professional sports franchise from one of the Big Four leagues to be based in Rhode Island. ...

and completed his football career with the NFL's Boston Bulldogs in 1929.

Baseball career

Pierotti began his

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

career in 1919 with the

minor-league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National ...

of the Eastern League. The following season, he joined the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

in August, appearing in six games. His lone major-league victory came in a 3–2 win over the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...

on September 27, 1920, when he allowed two runs on six hits and struck out three batters in a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

effort. The Giants' defeat eliminated them from the pennant race. Pierotti pitched in two games for the Braves in 1921, before returning to the Eastern League with the Pittsfield Hillies. After one more season, split between Pittsfield and the Waterbury Brasscos, Pierotti returned to football full-time. Overall with the major-league Braves, Pierotti compiled a 1–2 win–loss record with a 4.05

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) while striking out 13 batters in

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

Wrestling career

In 1931, Pierotti began appearing in

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

matches. On July 30, 1931, he challenged Jim Londos for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Coney Island Velodrome. Londos defeated Pierotti in 17:05 with an

airplane spin Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...

. In 1932, Pierotti began refereeing matches at the

Boston Arena Matthews Arena (formerly Boston Arena) is a historic multi-purpose arena in Boston, Massachusetts currently owned by Northeastern University. It is the world's oldest multi-purpose athletic building still in use, as well as the oldest arena in u ...

while continuing to wrestle occasionally.

Later life

In 1935, Pierotti became an assistant football coach at Chelsea High School. In 1936, he became head coach of the school's baseball team. From October 1936 to September 1938, he also hosted a "sports talk" radio show on WMEX. Pierotti remained at Chelsea High School as a teacher and baseball coach until his death on February 12, 1964. He was survived by his wife. Pierotti was inducted to the athletic hall of fame at Washington and Lee University in 1966.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierotti, Al 1895 births 1964 deaths Akron Pros players American football offensive linemen American male professional wrestlers American sports radio personalities Baseball players from Boston Baseball players from Everett, Massachusetts Boston Braves players Boston Bulldogs (AFL) players Boston Bulldogs (NFL) players Cleveland Tigers (NFL) players Cleveland Tigers-Indians coaches High school baseball coaches in the United States High school football coaches in Massachusetts High school football coaches in Ohio Milwaukee Badgers players New York Brickley Giants players Pittsfield Hillies players Players of American football from Boston American professional wrestling referees Providence Grays (minor league) players Providence Steam Roller players Racine Legion players Tufts Jumbos football coaches Washington and Lee Generals baseball players Washington and Lee Generals men's basketball players Washington and Lee Generals football players Waterbury Brasscos players