Mario Joseph DeMarco, (July 24, 1924 – December 9, 1956) was an American

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 ...

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), and professional

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

player, and was one of 62 people who died on

Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810 Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810-9 was a Canadair North Star on a scheduled flight from Vancouver to Calgary (continuing to Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina, Winnipeg, and Toronto). The plane crashed into Mount Slesse near Chilliwack, British Col ...

, on December 9, 1956. Raised in Boonton, DeMarco started at offensive lineman for four seasons at Boonton High School.Andrikanich, Ryan
"Honoring a legend"
, ''

Daily Record (Morristown) The ''Daily Record'' is a seven-day morning daily newspaper of the USA Today Network located in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey. The ''Daily Record'' serves the greater Morris County area of northern New Jersey, Essex County and the south- ...

'', December 9, 2006. Accessed July 19, 2011. "On this day 50 years ago, one of the worst commercial aviation disasters in Canadian history took the life of a promising young American football player who began his career as an offensive lineman for Boonton High School.... Mario DeMarco was born and raised in Boonton and played football for four years as a starting offensive lineman." DeMarco played professionally as an

offensive lineman 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 ( ...

for the

NFL 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 ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

, before joining the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

of the

Western Interprovincial Football Union The West Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League (CFL), its counterpart being the East Division. With a few exceptions, a senior men's football championship has been contested in Western Canada since 1911 ...

for two seasons beginning in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

. DeMarco joined the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

, and was a member of the team for four years until the time of his death. He was a three time West All-Star (in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

and

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

). DeMarco's #55

jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

is one of eight that has been

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

by the Roughriders.

College career

DeMarco played collegiately for the University of Miami Hurricanes from 1945 to 1949.

Professional career

Following college, DeMarco signed with the

, playing one season in

and one season with the New York Giants. In

, DeMarco joined the WIFU

, where he played for two years. DeMarco joined the

in 1952, and played with them until his death. He was a West All-Star in

and

, and was on his way back to

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

, on Flight 810 after watching teammates Mel Becket and Gordon Sturtridge play in the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

East–West All-Star game in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, on December 8, 1956.

Death

DeMarco, along with Roughriders teammates, Becket, Sturtridge, and

Ray Syrnyk Raymond Nicholas "Ray" Syrnyk, (1934 – December 9, 1956) was a professional Canadian football player, and was one of 62 people who died on Trans-Canada Air Lines Flight 810. Syrnyk played professionally for the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a r ...

, were passengers on

with another CFL player, Calvin Jones, of the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

. All five players were present at the

East–West All-Star game in

, and were headed back to their respective teams' home cities. The five players were accompanied by 54 other passengers, and 3 crew members who all lost their lives in Western Canada's worst aviation disaster on December 9, 1956. The crash is the subject of the 2012 documentary ''The Crash of Flight 810'', part of TSN's ''Engraved on a Nation'' series of eight documentaries celebrating the 100th

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

Legacy

Since

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

, in memory of DeMarco and his teammate Mel Becket, the WIFU and its successor, 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 ...

, have annually awarded the DeMarco-Becket Memorial Trophy to the most outstanding lineman in the West Division.

References

Sources

Pro-Football Reference.com Profile – Mario DeMarco
* CFL Facts & Figures. 2009 Edition. All-Time Division All-Star List on page 227. {{DEFAULTSORT:DeMarco, Mario 1924 births 1956 deaths American football offensive linemen Boonton High School alumni Canadian football offensive linemen Detroit Lions players Edmonton Elks players Miami Hurricanes football players Montreal Alouettes players Saskatchewan Roughriders players People from Boonton, New Jersey Players of American football from Morris County, New Jersey Players of Canadian football from New Jersey American people of Italian descent Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Canada Accidental deaths in British Columbia Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1956