Jack Emanuel "Soupy" Shapiro (March 22, 1907 – February 5, 2001) was an American

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

player who played in one game with the

Staten Island Stapletons The Staten Island Stapletons, also known as the Staten Island Stapes, were a professional American football team. Founded in 1915, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1929 in sports, 1929 to 1932 in sports, 1932. The team was ...

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

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

. Shapiro is most famous for being the shortest player in NFL history at about .

Early life

In 1907, Shapiro was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. His parents had immigrated to the

with their previous four boys and three girls, as well as their niece. Jack was the only one of his family to be born in America. His father and two of his brothers did odd jobs for a living, resulting in earnings of $9.00 a week. Shapiro attended Evander Child High School in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. While in high school, he was a starter on the football team for three straight years. During the last game in his senior year, however, he was injured and was forced out of the game. His playing weight in high school was .

College career

Prior to joining the Stapletons, Shapiro 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 ...

, while attending

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He played fullback for the Violets in 1927 when the team posted a 7-1-2 record while outscoring their opponents by 345-65. He joined the NYU team his freshman year as a "walk on". By his sophomore year, he was given a full scholarship and was awarded a varsity

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 ...

that season. Afterwards, Shapiro moonlighted as a professional football player for a team in Meriden,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. The team was sponsored by the

Sons of Italy The Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, formerly the Order Sons of Italy in America (, OSIA), is the largest and the oldest Italian American fraternal organization in the United States. A similar organization exists in Canada. It ha ...

NFL

In 1929, Shapiro played in one NFL game with Staten Island. As the shortest player in the history of the NFL, Shapiro played as a blocking back in the Stapletons' 34-0 victory over the Minneapolis Red Jackets. Shapiro later stated that he was, in fact, on the Stapletons roster for five games, playing in two regular-season games and one exhibition game. The regular-season games were late in the season against the Minneapolis Red Jackets and

Orange Tornadoes The Orange Tornadoes and Newark Tornadoes were two manifestations of a long-lived professional American football franchise that existed in some form from 1887 to 1941 and from 1958 to 1970, having played in the American Amateur Football Union fro ...

Recognition

In 1999, Shapiro received recognition in the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

as being the shortest player on record in NFL history.

References

Bibliography

Jews in Sports profile
*
Jack Shapiro's obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Jack 1907 births 2001 deaths Jewish American players of American football Players of American football from New York City NYU Violets football players Staten Island Stapletons players 20th-century American Jews