Ventan Constantine Yablonski (March 4, 1923 – March 1, 2008) 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 ...

fullback who played four seasons 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

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 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 ...

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Early life and college

Ventan Constantine Yablonski was born on March 4, 1923, in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

. He attended

Worcester Classical High School Doherty Memorial High School is a public high school located in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It opened its doors in the fall of 1966, replacing two closing schools: Worcester Classical High School and Worcester Commerce High School. ...

in Worcester. Yablonski was a member of the

Fordham Rams The Fordham Rams are the varsity sports teams for Fordham University. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. In football, the Rams play in t ...

from 1941 to 1942 and a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

in 1942. 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 ...

. After the war, he was a two-year letterman for the

Columbia Lions The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is Peter Pilling. History Intercollegia ...

from 1946 to 1947.

Professional career

Yablonski was selected by the

in the 12th round, with the 101st overall pick, of the

1946 NFL draft The 1946 NFL draft was held on January 14, 1946, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York. The selections were initially withheld from the public out of fear that the newly formed All-America Football Conference would sign away players ...

and by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

in the 18th round, with the 134th overall pick, of the 1947 AAFC draft. He signed with the Cardinals on January 24, 1948. He played in all 12 games, starting two, for the Cardinals during the 1948 season, totaling 48 carries for 233 yards, one reception for 13 yards, and one of four field goals. Yablonski also appeared in the

1948 NFL Championship Game The 1948 NFL Championship Game was the 16th title game of the National Football League (NFL), played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia on December 19. The game was a rematch of the previous year's title game between the defending champion, the Ch ...

, 7–0 loss to 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 ...

. He played in all 12 games, starting two, for the second consecutive year in 1949, recording 32 rushing attempts for 97 yards, six catches for 35 yards, five of six field goals, and one of one extra points. He appeared in all 12 games for the third consecutive season in 1950, accumulating 30 rushes for 110 yards and one touchdown, seven receptions for 71 yards, two of three field goals, and seven of seven extra points. Yablonski started the first four games of the 1951 season for the Cardinals, totaling 14 carries for 20 yards, one reception for eight yards, two of five field goals, and eight of eight extra points. He was released by Chicago on October 24, 1951.

Personal life

Yablonski's brother Joe Yablonski played college football at Holy Cross, and professionally for the Providence Steamroller of the American Association and the Boston Bears of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

. Vinnie died on March 1, 2008, in

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yablonski, Vinnie 1923 births 2008 deaths Players of American football from Worcester, Massachusetts American football fullbacks American football linebackers American football placekickers Fordham Rams football players Columbia Lions football players Chicago Cardinals players United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II