John Stroppa (January 2, 1926 – May 7, 2017) was an award-winning halfback who played in 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 ...

for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1949 to 1951. A native of Winnipeg, Stroppa took the league by storm in 1949, being the surprise winner of the

Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy The Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy is a Canadian Football League award, given to the most outstanding Canadian player in the West Division. Each team nominates a player for this award, from which the winner is chosen. Either the winner of this trophy ...

for Canadian rookie of the year in the west. He also played in the famed Mud Bowl, the 1950

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 ...

but retired after a serious mid-season kidney injury in 1951. After his playing days Stroppa moved to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

because of his job, and took up amateur officiating. He then became one of the few professional players to become a CFL referee, working 250 games in 15 years, after which he became the CFL's supervisor of officials for another 11 years. He died in Edmonton on May 7, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroppa, John 1926 births 2017 deaths Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners Players of Canadian football from Manitoba Canadian football people from Winnipeg Winnipeg Blue Bombers players