George Brancato (May 27, 1931 – October 22, 2019) was an American/Canadian

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

player and coach. Both an offensive and defensive player in college, he played five games for 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 ...

during the

1954 NFL season The 1954 NFL season was the 35th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Cleveland Browns defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFL Championship Game. Draft The 1954 NFL Draft was held on January 28, 1954 at Phil ...

. He rushed the ball twice for 26 yards and caught three passes for 28 yards. In

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yiji ...

he played in the Cardinals'

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

field. He joined the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

as halfback for the 1956 season. He played defensive back for the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

for seven seasons, occasionally playing on offense. After his retirement, he taught phys ed at Laval High and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

's Loyola High School before returning to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

as an assistant coach. In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

he was promoted to head coach after Coach of the Year Jack Gotta left to become head coach and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all ...

of the World Football League's Birmingham Americans. In

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

he won the

Annis Stukus Trophy The Annis Stukus Trophy is a Canadian Football League trophy, which is presented annually by the Edmonton Eskimos Alumni Association to the Coach of the Year, as determined by the members of the Football Reporters of Canada. The Trophy is named aft ...

as CFL's Coach of the Year after a first place 10-5-1 finish. The following season, he defeated the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded i ...

, 23–20, in the

64th Grey Cup The 64th Grey Cup was played on November 28, 1976, at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. The Ottawa Rough Riders defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders 23–20 in what is considered one of the most thrilling Grey Cup games, featuring some of the most ...

. In 1981, his 5–11 Rough Riders came close to causing a massive upset in that year's

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

versus the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Comm ...

. After a 4–12 1984 season he was relieved of his coaching duties and appointed director of player personnel. In 1989, he was hired to coach the

Chicago Bruisers The Chicago Bruisers were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They were founded in 1987 as a charter member of the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Rosemont Horizon. History Founding (1987) ...

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

. After the team folded he served as an assistant under Ernie Stautner with the expansion Dallas Texans. He returned to Ottawa in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

Ron Smeltzer Ron Smeltzer is a retired American and Canadian football coach who served as the head coach of the Ottawa Rough Riders from 1992 to 1993. Early life Smeltzer was born on October 29, 1941 in York, Pennsylvania. When he was 17 he joined the United ...

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

and

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

coach. That same year, he was the head coach of the UCCB

Capers ''Capparis spinosa'', the caper bush, also called Flinders rose, is a perennial plant that bears rounded, fleshy leaves and large white to pinkish-white flowers. The plant is best known for the edible flower buds (capers), used as a seasoning ...

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

team, which lasted only one season.Caper athletics: Just incredible
/ref> The following season, he served as the offensive coordinator of the Shreveport Pirates. His next coaching job was as

Defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator is a coach responsible for a gridiron football (American football) team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, the offensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's c ...

of the Anaheim Piranhas. In 1999, he returned to the AFL with the

Florida Bobcats The Florida Bobcats were an Arena Football League (AFL) team based in Sunrise, Florida. They were previously known as the Sacramento Attack and the Miami Hooters, and played in the AFL for a total of ten seasons, the last seven in West Palm Beach ...

as the team's defensive coordinator. It was his final coaching job as he retired at the end of the season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brancato, George 1931 births 2019 deaths American football defensive backs American football running backs Canadian football defensive backs Canadian football running backs Chicago Bruisers coaches Chicago Cardinals players LSU Tigers football players Montreal Alouettes players Ottawa Rough Riders players Santa Ana Dons football players Sportspeople from Brooklyn Coaches of American football from New York (state) Players of American football from New York (state)