Samuel Arthur Weiss (April 15, 1902 – February 1, 1977) was an American attorney, professional football player, and Democratic politician. He represented parts 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 ...

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 the surrounding area in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 1935 to 1939 and the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1941 to 1946. He was also a Deputy Commissioner 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 ...

Biography

Samuel Weiss was born in Krotowocz,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He immigrated to the

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 ...

in July 1905 with his mother, Sadie, and younger sister, Sarah. They joined his father, Israel, who had immigrated in November 1904. The family settled in Homestead, Pennsylvania, and later moved to Glassport, Pennsylvania. He graduated from

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( ; also known as Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a Private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 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 ...

in 1925, and from the law department of the same university with a

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1927 and J.D. in 1929. He played

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

with the pro-football team

Glassport Odds The Glassport Odds were a professional, later semi-professional American football, football team from Glassport, Pennsylvania from 1913 until 1950. History The Odds were organized in 1913 under the leadership of Victor Jaskolski, who coached, ...

from 1925 to 1926. He married Jeannette E. Hoffman on June 30, 1930. He was the director of the Roselia Maternity Hospital in

. He served in the

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 1935 to 1939. He joined 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 ...

as a referee in 1942 and served as Deputy Commissioner of the league from 1942 to 1950. He was elected in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

as a Democrat to the

77th United States Congress The 77th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 194 ...

and to the two succeeding Congresses. He served until his resignation on January 7, 1946. He was elected in November 1945 as a judge of the

Allegheny County Allegheny County ( ) is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pit ...

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

for the term commencing in January 1946 and served in this capacity until he retired in 1967. After retiring from the bench, he was President of the Pennsylvania State Judicial Administration in 1968.

Political positions

Weiss advocated for universal civil rights and for minorities, especially Zionism and Jewish issues. In 1943, he wrote to President Roosevelt protesting the British

White Paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...

which threatened to cut off Jewish immigration to Palestine and reduce them to a permanent minority by the following spring.. Representative Weiss's position was concordant with the previous year's

Biltmore Conference The Biltmore Conference, also known by its resolution as the Biltmore Program, was a fundamental departure from traditional Zionist policyAmerican Jewish Year Book Vol. 45 (1943-1944Pro-Palestine and Zionist Activities, pp 206-214 by its demand "th ...

, which described the policy as "cruel and indefensible in its denial of sanctuary to Jews fleeing from Nazi persecution." That same year, he was involved in organizing over 50 witnesses for his congressional committee hearings on a bill to limit racial incitement by mail.

References

Sources

The Political Graveyard

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Samuel A. Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 1902 births 1977 deaths American athlete-politicians Politicians from Pittsburgh American people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish American sports executives and administrators Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Pennsylvania lawyers Duquesne University alumni People from Glassport, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Polish emigrants to the United States 20th-century Pennsylvania state court judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American Jews Judges of the Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas Jewish American people in Pennsylvania politics 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Biography

Political positions

See also

References

Sources

External links