Albert A. "Luby" DiMeolo (October 27, 1903 – June 17, 1966) 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 was the second ever

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

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 ...

(later renamed the Steelers) 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 ...

. He coached the Pirates during their second season of

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

Early life

He was born in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

, but lived nearly his entire life in

Coraopolis, Pennsylvania Coraopolis () is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 5,559 at the 2020 census. Coraopolis is located west of Pittsburgh along the Ohio River and to the east of the Pittsburgh ...

, just west of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

College career

DiMeolo was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

and

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 ...

on the 1929

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 ...

team that was undefeated before losing in the 1930 Rose Bowl to

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 * ...

Coaching career

New York University

Upon graduating from Pittsburgh, DiMeolo served as

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

coach at

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 ...

under head coach Chick Meehan and later

Howard Cann Howard Goodsell Cann (October 11, 1895 – December 18, 1992) was an American sportsman best known as the long-time men's basketball coach at New York University. He was also an Olympic shot putter and a college basketball and football player. ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

When the Pittsburgh Pirates (who later would be renamed the ''

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

'') joined the NFL in , DiMeolo was rumored to be the leading candidate to become the team's initial

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

. He was passed over for the job in favor of Jap Douds, who lasted just a single season as the team's coach. DiMeolo replaced Douds for the team's second season. The Pirates started strong under DiMeolo, defeating the Cincinnati Reds with a final score of 13-0 before losing three consecutive games and being shut out in two. His team escaped with a narrow 9-7 victory over the

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 ...

and subsequently lost all of their remaining games. Under DiMeolo, the Pirates were shutout in six of their 12 games, scoring just a total of 51 points during the season and allowing 206. They achieved 2470 yards of total offense during the season (952 passing, 1,518 rushing), equating to about 205 per game, and only scored six total touchdowns collectively, four passing and two rushing. He led the Pirates to a disappointing 2–10 record in his first season, after which he was dismissed.

Return to collegiate coaching

After leaving the Pirates, DiMeolo returned to the

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

ranks as an assistant coach at

Westminster College (Pennsylvania) Westminster College is a Private school, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1852, it is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The student p ...

and later at

Carnegie Tech Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a Private university, private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became t ...

Navy career and later life

He joined the

navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

during World War II and served as a physical instructor, rising to the rank of lieutenant commander. After leaving the navy, DiMeolo worked in the Pennsylvania state Department of Commerce, before losing his position due to a change in the political party running the government. He was shortly thereafter named a

U.S. Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the U.S. federal judiciary. It is an agency of the U.S. Department of Jus ...

for western Pennsylvania. He served as Marshal until 1961, after which he worked for

U.S. Steel The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

. DiMeolo was married to Amelia Ann Sciliano; the couple had no children. He died at the age of 62 of a heart attack which occurred shortly after he had completed a game of squash in 1966.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimeolo, Luby 1903 births 1966 deaths American football guards Carnegie Mellon Tartans football coaches Law enforcement officials from Pennsylvania NYU Violets football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football players Pittsburgh Pirates (football) players Pittsburgh Pirates (football) coaches Westminster Titans football coaches 20th-century United States Marshals Players of American football from Youngstown, Ohio Pittsburgh Pirates head coaches