Sam Dana (August 7, 1903 – October 29, 2007), born Samuel Salemi, was an American 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 ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for two seasons for the

Hartford Blues The Hartford Blues of the National Football League played only in the 1926 NFL season, with a record of 3–7. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut but played at the East Hartford Velodrome. Hall of Famers Season-by-season Referen ...

and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. At the time of his death, Dana was thought to be the oldest living

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 ...

player. He is the 2nd-longest lived NFL player in history.

Biography

Dana was known as Sam "Smoke" Salemi during his playing days. He became a football player at the suggestion of a teacher at

New Utrecht High School New Utrecht High School is a public high school located in Bensonhurst, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Education under District 20 and serves students of grades 9 to 12. A tot ...

in Brooklyn after seeing him weave through desks as a fellow student was chasing him. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and was a football teammate of

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941), also known as Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was ...

. Dana attended St John's University and

Canisius College Canisius University is a private Jesuit university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 ma ...

. After retiring from football, he became an agent for the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

(IRS). He legally changed his last name to Dana in 1945. Dana was mistaken for a baseball player who died in 1969, the mixup being published in the NFL's ''Total Football'' encyclopedia. He resurfaced in 2003 upon turning 100 when his son notified the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

that he was living in a nursing home in

Kenmore, New York Kenmore is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 15,205 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area. Kenmore is in the south part of the town of Tonawanda, and together with the ...

. He was a guest at the Hall of Fame's Senior Citizen Day later that year and was presented with a special jersey by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

bearing 100 emblazoned on it upon visiting their training camp. Dana died at the age of 104 in 2007.

References

1903 births 2007 deaths American men centenarians American football running backs Columbia Lions football players Hartford Blues players New York Yankees (NFL) players 20th-century American sportsmen {{runningback-1900s-stub

Biography

See also

References