John James Ferraro (1910 – September 28, 1981) was American

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

player. He was an all-star football player in the

Ontario Rugby Football Union The Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) was an early amateur Canadian football league comprising teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded on Saturday, January 6, 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt th ...

and the

Interprovincial Rugby Football Union The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not founded until 1958, the East Division and its clubs are descended from earlier leagues. T ...

. He was inducted into the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

in 1966 and the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame in 1978. A graduate of

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in 1934 with a degree in hotel administration, he captained both the football and basketball teams and was a member of the

Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University. It is often recognized as one of the most prominent societies of its type, along with Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key at Yale University. In 1929, ''The New York Times'' stated ...

society. He came to Canada in 1934 and played two seasons with the

Hamilton Tigers The Hamilton Tigers were a professional ice hockey team based in Hamilton, Ontario. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1920 to 1925. The Tigers were formed by the sale of the Quebec Bulldogs NHL franchise to Hamilton intere ...

of the IRFU and played in the

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 ...

. Ferraro then moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

where he played for 4 teams. Starting in 1936, he suited up for the

Montreal Indians Montreal Indians was a Canadian football team in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. The team played in the 1936 and 1937 seasons. Canadian Football Hall of Famers *Abe Eliowitz Abe Eliowitz (November 10, 1910 – November 19, 1981) was ...

Montreal Nationals The Montreal Nationals were a Canadian football team in Ontario Rugby Football Union. The team played in the 1938 season. The teams was preceded by the CNR Nationals, who played one year, 1937, in the short lived Quebec Rugby Football Union reviv ...

Montreal Westmounts Montreal Westmounts was a Canadian football team in Ontario Rugby Football Union. The team played in the 1939 season. Canadian Football Hall of Famers *John Ferraro (Canadian football), John Ferraro ORFU season-by-season References

and

Montreal Bulldogs Montreal Bulldogs was a Canadian football team in Interprovincial Rugby Football Union The East Division is one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League, its counterpart being the West Division. Although the CFL was not f ...

. He was also playing coach of the Tigers and Indians. Ferraro won the Imperial Oil Trophy in 1938 as MVP in the ORFU. He donated the trophy to the widow of

Ormond Beach Ormond Beach is a city in central Florida in Volusia County. The population was 43,080 at the 2020 census. Ormond Beach lies directly north of Daytona Beach and is a principal city of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL Metropolitan ...

, a previous MVP who lost his life in an accident. The donors of the award sent a new trophy to Ferraro. Ferraro was married to Edna Letts, of

Scotia, New York Scotia is a village in Schenectady County, New York, United States, incorporated in 1904. The population was 7,729 at the 2010 census. Scotia is part of the town of Glenville, and is connected with the city of Schenectady by the Western Gatewa ...

. He died at the age of 70, on September 28, 1981, at the Bridgewater Convalescent Center in

Bridgewater, New Jersey Bridgewater Township is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. The township is both a regional commercial hub for Central New Jersey (home to Bridgewater Commons and different corporate headquarters) and is a bedroom suburb ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferraro, Johnny 1910 births 1981 deaths American players of Canadian football Cornell Big Red football players Cornell Big Red men's basketball players Hamilton Tigers football players Ontario Rugby Football Union players Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Cornell University School of Hotel Administration alumni Sportspeople from Buffalo, New York