Albert Romano (born April 4, 1954) is an American former 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 ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

who played two seasons in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) with the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

and

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

. He was selected by the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

in the eleventh round of the

1977 NFL draft The 1977 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1977, at the Roosevelt Hotel ...

. Romano 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 ...

at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, where he was a consensus

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

Early life

Albert Romano was born on April 4, 1954, in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

. He attended Solvay High School in

Solvay, New York Solvay is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village located in the town of Geddes, New York, Geddes, Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York (state), New York, United States, and a suburb of the city of Syracuse, New Yor ...

. He participated in football, track, and wrestling in high school. Romano was a football team captain during his junior and senior years and also earned all-county honors both seasons. He was inducted into the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.

College career

After a year of prep school in Virginia, Romano was a four-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

for the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

of the

from 1973 to 1976. He was named the most valuable lineman of the

1975 Sun Bowl The 1975 Sun Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Kansas Jayhawks. Background With a surprising fourth-place finish in the Big Eight Conference, the Jayhawks had a highlight victory over ...

. He garnered consensus

recognition in 1976 as the 1976 Panthers were named consensus national champions. He was also named first-team All-East by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(AP) in 1975 and first-team All-East by both the AP and

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

in 1976. Romano was inducted into the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame in 2024.

Professional career

Romano was selected by the

in the eleventh round, with the 289th overall pick, of the

. He signed with the Oilers but was released later in 1977. Romano played in eight games for the

of the

(CFL) in 1977, recovering one fumble. He appeared in three games in 1978. Romano also played in six games for the

of the CFL during the 1978 season, recording one interception.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romano, Al Living people 1954 births Players of American football from New York (state) American football defensive tackles Canadian football defensive linemen Players of Canadian football from New York (state) Pittsburgh Panthers football players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Toronto Argonauts players All-American college football players Sportspeople from Schenectady, New York People from Solvay, New York Sportspeople from Onondaga County, New York Houston Oilers players