Stephen Lawrence Petro (October 21, 1914 – August 15, 1994) was an American professional

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who played two seasons with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

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 ...

(NFL). He was selected by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in the ninth round of the

1939 NFL draft The 1939 NFL draft was held on December 9, 1938, at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Cardinals selected center Ki Aldrich. Player selections Round one ...

after playing

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at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

Early life and college

Stephen Lawrence Petro was born on October 21, 1914, in

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Metropolitan statistical area ...

. He attended Greater Johnstown High School. Petro played

for the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

of the

under head coach

Jock Sutherland John Bain Sutherland (March 21, 1889 – April 11, 1948) was an American football player and coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College (1919–1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924–1938) and professional football for the ...

. He was on the freshman team in 1935 and was a three-year

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from 1936 to 1938. The 1937 Panthers were named national champions. Petro earned

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first-team All-Eastern honors his senior year in 1938.

Professional career

Petro was selected by the

in the ninth round, with the 72nd overall pick, of the

. In 1940, his negotiation rights were traded to the

. He signed with the Dodgers on August 8, 1940. Petro played in all 11 games, starting six, for the Dodgers during the 1940 season. He appeared in six games in 1941. He then served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Post-playing career

Petro was an assistant football coach for the Pittsburgh Panthers from 1950 to 1972. He was also the Assistant to the Athletic Director from 1973 to 1984. His Pitt nickname was "the Rock," based on Petro, a derivation of the Greek word petros, which means rock. The Pitt Panther mascot's nickname is ROC, in Steve's honor. Petro died on August 15, 1994, in

Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania Jefferson Hills is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 12,424. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Part of the West Je ...

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petro, Steve 1914 births 1994 deaths Players of American football from Johnstown, Pennsylvania American football guards Pittsburgh Panthers football players Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II