David Edward DiFilippo (October 9, 1916 – August 29, 1983) was an

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 with ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

and coach. A

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, he played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for Villanova and professional football for 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. He held coaching positions in college and professional football and led the

Pottstown Firebirds The Pottstown Firebirds were a professional American football minor league team and member of the Atlantic Coast Football League from 1968 to 1970. The Pottstown Firebirds were former NFL football players, former college football players, and for ...

to two

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional american football minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with NFL and AFL teams to serve as farm clubs. The league pai ...

championships in three years as the head coach.

Early years

DiFilippo was born in

in 1916 and attended West Catholic High School. He played college football for Villanova from 1937 to 1939. He was part of the undefeated

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

and 1938 Villanova teams that were ranked No. 6 and No. 18, respectively in the final AP polls.

Professional football

He then played professional football in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

(NFL), appearing in five games, two as a starter, during the 1941 season. DiFilippo enlisted in the Army and in the fall of 1942 played on the Army Eastern All-Stars, a team of football stars serving in the military who played against NFL teams. He attained the rank of captain and also played on the Kessler Field and First Air Force football teams. Following his discharge from the military, he played for the

Los Angeles Dons The Los Angeles Dons were an American football team in the newly formed football league the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 to 1949, and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Dons were the first profes ...

of the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

, but did not appear in any regular season games.

Coaching career

From 1947 to 1951, he coached the Tacony semipro football team. He then coached football at St. Thomas More High School from 1951 to 1953. He returned to Villanova in 1954 as a line coach, a position he held until 1959. In the week leading up to a game with West Chester, he spied on the opposition's practice sessions wearing a blond wig, sunglasses, and a raincoat, then returned to Villanova to develop a winning strategy. He worked briefly as a scout for the Philadelphia Eagles and then as an assistant coach at Temple. He then worked for several minor league football teams, including coaching the

Philadelphia Bulldogs ''For the Continental Football League team (1960s) known as the Philadelphia Bulldogs, see here.'' The Philadelphia Bulldogs were an inline hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were members of the Atlantic Division of the East ...

of the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to beco ...

and general manager and head coach of the

of the

(ACFL). He won two ACFL championships in three years with Pottstown and was selected in 1970 as ACFL coach of the year.

Later years

In his later years, he worked in the insurance business, operated a beer distributorship and a restaurant known as Coach's Corner, and lived in

Ocean City, New Jersey Ocean City is a city in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the principal city of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Cape May County and is part of the Philadelphia- Wilmington- Camden, P ...

. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and the Villanova Hall of Fame. He died in 1983 at Shore Memorial Hospital in

Somers Point, New Jersey Somers Point is a city that is the oldest settlement in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was settled by Europeans in 1693 and was incorporated as a borough in 1886. Somers Point was incorporated as a city in 1902. As of the 2 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DiFilippo, Dave 1916 births 1983 deaths American football guards Philadelphia Eagles players Villanova Wildcats football players Players of American football from Philadelphia