Joseph James Cibulas (May 31, 1921 – May 15, 1998) 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 wi ...

offensive tackle 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). He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 1945 season. Cibulas was born near

Norvelt, Pennsylvania Norvelt is a census-designated place in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, founded in 1934 as Westmoreland Homesteads. In 1937 it was renamed to honor Eleanor Roosevelt. The community was part of the Calum ...

, located between Greensburg and Latrobe. He attended Hurst High School located in Norvelt, and later

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

. Many sources mistakenly state that Cibulas attended Mount Pleasant Area High School, located in

Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania Mount Pleasant is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It stands 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. As of the 2010 census, the borough's population was 4,454. The Borough of Mount Pleasant, consisting of th ...

. However that school was not open until 1960 well after Cibulas' graduation in 1943.

NFL

Cibulas was drafted by the Steelers in the 25th round (237th overall) of the 1943 Draft. The Pittsburgh Steelers and 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 play ...

merged their teams during the 1943 season and became the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh "Steagles". That year the Steelers and the Eagles merged their teams during the 1943 season and became the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh "Steagles". The merger was a result of manning shortages due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Cibulas did not play with the merged teams. He played only one season with the Steelers in 1945.

College

He was inducted into the Duquesne University Sports Hall of Fame in 1974.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cibulas, Joe 1921 births 1998 deaths Players of American football from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Steelers players Duquesne Dukes football players