Stephen Charles "Flip" Filipowicz (June 28, 1921 – February 21, 1975) was a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

player. Filipowicz and Olympic great

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Nativ ...

share the distinction of being the only two men to have played for the New York Giants of both baseball and football.

Football

Filipowicz, a fullback and

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

who played at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

from 1941 to 1943, was drafted by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

in the first round in the

1943 NFL Draft The 1943 National Football League Draft was held on April 8, 1943, at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team base ...

. Although an undersized back at 5'8", 198 lbs, he was still taken with the sixth overall pick. In his first season, he rushed for 142 yards on 53 attempts and had 49 receiving yards. He also attempted two incomplete passes. In 1946 he made seven receptions for 84 yards and caught four interceptions as a

blocking back The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ameri ...

. He retired after the season to become head football, basketball, and baseball coach at

Mount Saint Mary's University Mount St. Mary's University (The Mount) is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It includes the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. The undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Arts ...

. He resigned the following year to play baseball.

Baseball

After a successful season as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

and

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

for the

Jersey City Giants {{about, the baseball team, the football team, American Association (American football) The Jersey City Giants was the name of a high-level American minor league baseball franchise that played in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the top farm system a ...

, Filipowicz made his major league debut on September 3, 1944 for the

. He appeared in 15 games, collecting 8 hits in 41 at bats (.195). He appeared in 35 games the next season and batted .205 with 2 home runs. He made a return to baseball in 1948 with the

Sunbury Reds The Sunbury Indians were a minor league baseball team based in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. They began play in the Interstate League in 1939 as the Sunbury Senators and were renamed the Sunbury Indians in 1940. Despite the nicknames, they were unaffil ...

of the

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassifie ...

. He was called up to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

later that season and collected 9 hits in 26 at bats (.346). He spent the 1949 & 1950 seasons with the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States * Syracuse, New York ** East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

and the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

References

External links

Steve Filipowicz NFL Stats at databaseFootball.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Filipowicz, Steve 1921 births 1975 deaths American men's basketball coaches Cincinnati Reds players Syracuse Chiefs players Fordham Rams football players Fordham Rams baseball players Baseball players from Pennsylvania Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Major League Baseball outfielders Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers baseball coaches Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers football coaches Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers men's basketball coaches New York Giants players New York Giants (NL) players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Georgia Pre-Flight Skycrackers football players People from Donora, Pennsylvania