Alexander Rado (July 19, 1911 – August 30, 1995) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player and coach. He played for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

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 ...

(NFL) in 1934.

Early years

Rado was born on July 19, 1911, in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

, to Louis and Mary Rado. Rado graduated from Roosevelt High School in

, in 1929. He played with the Lakeside Maroons, a semi-professional football team, during high school. He 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 ...

for New River State College from 1931 through 1933. He was named

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

for the 1933 team. Rado was inducted into his college's hall of fame and the

West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) was a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference which historically operated exclusively in the state of West Virginia, but briefly had one Kentucky member in its early y ...

named him to their "All Time Star" 50th anniversary team in 1974.

Professional career

Rado joined the Kiefer Drugs, a semi-professional football team in Ohio, for the 1933 season. He also played for the Dakota Streeters, a sandlot football team. He signed a contract with the

of the

on August 9, 1934. He played in eight games for the Pirates in 1934, rushing for 210 yards. His salary was $100 per game, and he missed one month of the season due to a broken collarbone suffered during a tackle of

Bronko Nagurski Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski (November 3, 1908 – January 7, 1990) was a Canadian-American professional football player who was a fullback and defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). Renowned for his strength and size, Nagurski ...

. He was released before the start of the 1935 season on September 6, 1935. He and Basilio Marchi filed

workers' compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

claims in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

against the Steelers, asserting that they should receive salaries despite their injuries during the 1934 season. A judge ruled in their favor in January 1936. Rado played for the semi-pro Dayton Kesslers for the 1935 season. He joined the

Los Angeles Bulldogs The Los Angeles Bulldogs were a professional American football team that competed from 1936 to 1948 (the last year as the Long Beach Bulldogs). Formed with the intention of joining the National Football League in 1937 (and turned down in favor o ...

in 1936, and signed with the

Dayton Rosies Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

of the Midwest Football League in December 1936. He stayed on with the Rosies through the 1937 and 1938 seasons. The team became the Dayton Bombers in 1939, with Rado shifting to a role as a player-coach. Rado was a player-coach for the Dakotas Athletic Club semi-professional football team in 1940. His team went undefeated on the season. Rado and the Dakotas joined the Ohio Professional Football League for the 1941 season. He was a player-coach again in 1942 for the Dakotas. Rado founded the Dayton Rockets in 1946, with his role again as a player-coach. The team won the Dayton semi-pro city over the

Dayton Bombers The Dayton Bombers were an ECHL ice hockey team located in Dayton, Ohio. The team most recently was in the North Division of the ECHL's American Conference. The Bombers originally played at Hara Arena from 1991 to 1996. The team moved to the Erv ...

, 18–12, on December 1, 1946. He announced his retirement from playing after 1946, but returned as a player during the 1947 season. The team joined the Inter-State Semipro Football League in 1947, but left the league during the season. They won the city championship over the Bombers again by a score of 47–0. The team became the John Stanko Barons for the 1948 season, with Rado playing quarterback. They went 7–1–1 in 1948 before playing in the city championship again opposite the Bombers, which they won for the third year in a row with a score of 30–6. Renamed the Wiedemann Buds, they played for the city championship against the Dayton Bombers again in 1949 and won their fourth title, 25–6.

Post-football

Rado played in a Dayton softball league in 1963. He also officiated high school football games and played

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

. He worked for Delco Products as a tool process engineer after moving back to Dayton in 1936. Rado had two children with his wife Stella, and remarried to Marge after his first wife's death. He died on August 30, 1995.

References

External links

ProFootballArchives.com statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rado, Alex 1911 births 1995 deaths Players of American football from Dayton, Ohio American football halfbacks West Virginia Tech Golden Bears football players Pittsburgh Pirates (football) players Los Angeles Bulldogs players Midwest Football League (1935–1940) players Midwest Football League (1935–1940) coaches Male softball players American football officials