Samuel Laurence Venuto (November 2, 1927 – July 7, 2014) 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 ...

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 ...

in 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 played professionally for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

Biography

Venuto was born in

Havertown Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated community in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles west of the center of Philadelphia. Havertown's ZIP Code is 19083 and "Havertown" is a postal ...

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 ...

, and attended

Haverford High School Haverford Senior High School is the public high school of Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States, operated by the School District of Haverford Township. It is at 200 Mill Road in Havertown, Pennsylvania ...

in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania. 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 ...

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for ...

. In 1952, he played for the Washington Redskins. He was a coach for more than 25 years at Salem High School, where he posted record of 132-94-11 and coached players including

Lydell Mitchell Lydell Douglas Mitchell (born May 30, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) from 1972 to 1980. During his nine-season NFL career, Mitchell played for the Baltimore C ...

and

Jay Venuto Jason Schellenger "Jay" Venuto (born February 5, 1958) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for the Baltimore Colts and the New York Jets, and in the United States Football League for the Birmingham ...

, his son.Odenbrett, Austin
"Legendary Salem football coach Sam Venuto dies at 87"
''

South Jersey Times The ''South Jersey Times'' is a newspaper serving the South Jersey area of New Jersey. History The newspaper began publication on November 4, 2012, following a merger of three affiliated papers, '' Gloucester County Times'', '' The News of Cu ...

'', July 14, 2014. Accessed April 28, 2023. "Following a short career in the NFL with the Washington Redskins, Venuto spent nearly three decades as head coach at Salem from 1953-1979, amassing a career record of 132-94-11. He coached multiple future college football stars, including College Football Hall of Famer Lydell Mitchell, who went on to thrive at Penn State and in the NFL, and his own son Jay, who stood out as a quarterback at Wake Forest."

References

External links

*
Pro-Football.com
1927 births 2014 deaths Sportspeople from Haverford Township, Pennsylvania American football running backs American people of Italian descent Washington Redskins players Guilford Quakers football players Players of American football from Delaware County, Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportsmen {{runningback-1920s-stub