John Patrick Aveni (March 17, 1935 – January 20, 2002) 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 with ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

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) for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

and the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

Early life

Aveni was born in

Glassboro, New Jersey Glassboro is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 18,579,Glassboro High School Glassboro High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Glassboro, in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the sole secondary school of the Glassboro ...

, where he played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at three different positions. He then was awarded a full scholarship and played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

. He graduated in 1959 with a degree in

business marketing Business marketing is a marketing practice of individuals or organizations (including commercial businesses, governments and institutions). It allows them to sell products or services to other companies or organizations that resell them, use the ...

Professional career

Aveni was selected in the 27th round of the

1959 NFL Draft The 1959 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 1, 1958, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 21, 1959. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. With the first overall pick in the dra ...

by the

, where he played from 1959 to 1960. In June 1961, he was traded to the

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

for

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

Lee Riley Leon Francis Riley Jr. (August 24, 1932 – June 9, 2011), best known as Lee Riley, was an American college and professional American football defensive back. He played collegiately at the University of Detroit Mercy, in the NFL for the Detr ...

. However, in July 1961, before playing a down for the Giants, Aveni was involved in a three-team trade with the Giants,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

. The Giants received ends

Jim Podoley James Podoley (September 16, 1933 – January 24, 2010) was an American football halfback and end for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). Born in Mount Morris, Michigan, he played college football at Central Michigan ...

and

Joe Walton Joseph Frank Walton (December 15, 1935 – August 15, 2021) was an American football player and coach who retired after 20 years as the head coach and creator of the football program at Robert Morris University. Walton played eight seasons in t ...

from the Redskins, the Redskins received

Fred Dugan John Frederick Dugan (May 12, 1933 – March 3, 2018) was an American football end. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. He played college football ...

from the Cowboys and Aveni, end Jerry Daniels, and

defensive halfback The halfback in Canadian football, and most commonly the Canadian Football League, currently refers to the defensive back rather than the running back, as in American football. The defensive halfback lines up inside covering the slotback. They ar ...

Dave Whitsell David A. Whitsell (June 14, 1936 – October 7, 1999) was an American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, the Chicago Bears, and the New Orleans Saints. He was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 196 ...

from the Giants, and the Cowboys received placekicker Allen Green and a sixth round for the

1962 NFL Draft The 1962 National Football League draft was held on December 4, 1961 at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. The Washington Redskins used the first overall pick of the draft to select running back Ernie Davis, then subsequently traded him ...

from the Giants that the team later used to draft

George Andrie George Joseph Andrie (April 20, 1940 – August 21, 2018) was an American professional football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. Prior to his professional career he played college football at Marquett ...

Coaching and teaching career

Aveni began as a health and

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

teacher at Glassboro High School in 1960 during the football off-season. Then, after retiring from professional football, he moved to

Pitman, New Jersey Pitman is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Gloucester County, New Jersey, Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 8,780, a drop of 231 from the 201 ...

and briefly worked as an

insurance agent Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

. He then returned to Glassboro High School in 1965 as a teacher in business, health and physical education and a coach for football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. Aveni became a student personnel adviser in 1971, then was named assistant principal in 1975 later, before becoming principal in 1985. In 1976, he led the Glassboro football team to the South Jersey Group 1 championship as a rookie head coach. In 1983, he led the Bulldogs (South Jersey's only undefeated, untied football squad that season) to another Group 1 title. Running back Gordon Lockbaum later became a

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

candidate at

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

. After eight years as principal, Aveni became the director of special programs for the school district until he retired in 1997. He continued in education as an adjunct professor at

Gloucester County College Rowan College of South Jersey (RCSJ) is a public community college with two campuses in New Jersey, including one in Sewell (Gloucester Main Campus) and one in Vineland and Millville (Cumberland Branch Campus). The college was established in ...

. Aveni was elected to The Gloucester County, NJ Sports Hall of Fame in 1983.

Personal life

Aveni married his wife, Margaret, in 1959 and raised three daughters. On January 20, 2002, he suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

and died at

Temple University Hospital Temple University Hospital (TUH) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is an academic medical center in the United States which is a part of the healthcare network Temple Health. It is the chief clinical training site for the Temple University School of ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aveni, John 1935 births 2002 deaths Glassboro High School alumni People from Glassboro, New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Sportspeople from Gloucester County, New Jersey American football placekickers American football tight ends Indiana Hoosiers football players Chicago Bears players Washington Redskins players