Anthony Samuel Ippolito (September 19, 1917 – November 12, 1951) 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 ...

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who played one season with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

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

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

in the seventh 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

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 ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

Early life and college

Anthony Samuel Ippolito was born on September 19, 1917, in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He attended St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago. Ippolito played

for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

. He was on the freshman team in 1935. He was a

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in 1936 and 1938.

Professional career

Ippolito was selected by the

in the seventh round, with the 54th overall pick, of the

. However, he did not sign with the Eagles. Ippolito signed with the

St. Louis Gunners The St. Louis Gunners were an independent professional football team based in St. Louis, Missouri, that played the last three games of the 1934 National Football League season, replacing the Cincinnati Reds on the league schedule after the Reds ...

of the

American Professional Football Association 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 ...

on October 25, 1939. Ippolito signed with the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

of the NFL on August 2, 1940. He was later released. Ippolito played for the independent Chicago Gunners during the 1940 season. He played in nine games for the

of the NFL in 1943 and recorded one interception. He also played in the

1943 NFL Championship Game The 1943 NFL Championship Game was the 11th annual title game of the National Football League (NFL), held at Wrigley Field in Chicago on December 26 with an attendance of 34,320. In a rematch of the previous year's game, the Western Division ...

, a 41–21 victory over 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 ...

Personal life

Ippolito served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

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 ...

as a medical officer in the 102nd Infantry Regiment. He graduated from the Loyola School of Medicine and became an othopedic surgeon in Chicago. On November 12, 1951, in

Evanston, Wyoming Evanston is a city in and the county seat of Uinta County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 11,747 at the 2020 census. It is located near the border with Utah. History Evanston was named after James A. Evans, a civil engineer for th ...

, Ippolito and his wife died in the train collision between the ''

City of Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city ...

'' and '' City of San Francisco''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ippolito, Tony 1917 births 1951 deaths Players of American football from Chicago St. Ignatius College Prep alumni American football guards Purdue Boilermakers football players St. Louis Gunners players Midwest Football League (1935–1940) players Chicago Cardinals players Chicago Bears players United States Army personnel of World War II Loyola University Chicago alumni Railway accident deaths in the United States