Joseph Martin Silipo (born December 31, 1957 at

Glen Cove, New York Glen Cove is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island. At the 2020 United States Census, the city population was 28,365 as of th ...

) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and

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 ...

player in three professional football leagues. An

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

and a graduate of

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

, Silipo played two games with 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 ci ...

in 1981. He then moved to the USFL, where he played with the

Denver Gold The Denver Gold was a franchise in the United States Football League, an attempt to establish a second major professional American football, football league in the United States, playing a springtime season, from 1983 to 1985. The Gold played the ...

in 1983 and the

San Antonio Gunslingers The San Antonio Gunslingers were a professional American football team based in San Antonio, Texas, that played in the United States Football League (USFL) in 1984 and 1985. Owned by oil magnate Clinton Manges, the team played its home games in ...

in 1984 and 1985. In 1987, he was an

NFL 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 major ...

strike replacement player with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, playing in one game. His son, Joe Silipo Jr., was a

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

at the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

and then transferred to the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

where he served as a long snapper for the Buffaloes.

College career

Silipo played football at

and graduated with a degree in education.

Professional career

Montreal Alouettes/Montreal Concordes

As a free agent, Silipo would sign with the

of the

on July 11, 1981. He was assigned jersey number 67 and played in two games during the Alouettes' 1981 season. The Alouettes franchise folded in May 1982 and the team re-emerged as the

Montreal Concordes The Montreal Alouettes ( 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 East Division of the Cana ...

. Following a dismal 3–13-0 record in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

, the Concordes immediately started a rebuilding process and several players were released, including Silipo on June 28, 1982.

Kansas City Chiefs

After being released by the Concordes, Silipo signed with the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

of 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 ...

on July 10, 1982, and subsequently attended the Chiefs' training camp located at William Jewell College in

Liberty, Missouri Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Missouri, United States and is a suburb of Kansas City, located in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 30,167. Liberty is home to Willi ...

. He was later released by the Chiefs on August 30, 1982. During his time with the Chiefs Silipo wore jersey number 75.

Denver Gold

Silipo signed with the

of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

( USFL) on December 7, 1982. Silipo would wear jersey number 66 for the

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and went on to play in 17 games during their 1983 inaugural season.

San Antonio Gunslingers

He was selected by the

in the 3rd round (16th player selected) of the USFL expansion draft in September 1983. Silipo played in nine games during the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

season and returned to play in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

as well. Notable is the fact that Silipo and his teammates continued play during the

season despite not being paid on a regular basis. As a result of the financial problems that owner

Clinton Manges Clinton Manges (August 22, 1923 – September 23, 2010) was a controversial oil tycoon in Texas in the 1970s and 1980s. Manges was born in Cement, Oklahoma. He began to amass his fortune in South Texas in the early 1970s, when he befriended Llo ...

faced, the

Gunslingers Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

released all of their players, on July 22, 1985, just minutes before the deadline to pay the players for two overdue paychecks.

Buffalo Bills

Silipo signed with the

as a replacement player during the 1987 players' strike. He played in his first and only regular season

game against the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

on October 4 in front of 9,860 spectators at the 80,290-seat

Rich Stadium Highmark Stadium is a stadium in Orchard Park (town), New York, Orchard Park, New York State, New York, in the Southtowns of the Buffalo, New York, Buffalo metropolitan area. The stadium opened in 1973 Buffalo Bills season, 1973 as Rich Stadium a ...

. Two weeks later on October 20, 1987, he was placed on the injured reserve list, effectively ending his professional career.Transactions
'Gettysburg Times'', accessed March 17, 2012

Post-football career

Endeavor Academy

He later worked as a physical education/health teacher at Endeavor Academy located in Centennial, Colorado.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silipo, Joe 1957 births Living people American football offensive linemen Montreal Alouettes players Buffalo Bills players Tulane Green Wave football players Tulane University alumni Denver Gold players San Antonio Gunslingers players Sportspeople from Glen Cove, New York Ward Melville High School alumni