John F. Naioti (1921-1990) was a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player 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 ...

. He graduated from Saint Francis University, Loretto, Pennsylvania in 1942. He played in the

for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in 1942. He then went into the Army Air Corp during World War II. He was a first lieutenant navigator and a member of the 603rd Squadron. On August 16, 1944 he flew on a mission from Nuthampstead, England to Delitzsch, Germany. He completed his 32 combat missions on August 26, 1944 after a flight over

Gelsenkirchen, Germany Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...

. After completion of his military service, he returned to the

and played in 1945. In 1945 he also kicked four point after touchdowns. According to his widow, he was offered a contract by the

for 1946 but decided to retire due to pain from his war injuries. He is buried in Saint Mary's Cemetery, South 7 Street, Fulton, Oswego County, New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naioti, John 1921 births 1990 deaths Saint Francis Red Flash football players Pittsburgh Steelers players