Peter Giftopoulos (born June 14, 1965) is a former

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who played eight years for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

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 ...

(CFL). Giftopoulos played college football at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

College career

After playing on the defensive line at Cathedral High School in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, Giftopoulos committed to play college football at

as a

. He chose Penn State over

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, Notre Dame and Syracuse. After starting his freshman season on the defensive line, Giftopoulos was shifted to

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 ...

. He was later moved to linebacker and gained a starting role before his junior season, earning the spot over Mike Beckish. Giftopoulos recorded a sack and two interceptions, including the game-sealing pick in the

1987 Fiesta Bowl The 1987 Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game that served as the final game of the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Part of the 1986–87 bowl game season, the 1987 Fiesta Bowl also served as the National Championship Game, between ...

. During the following spring, he broke his tibia after a teammate fell on it in practice, and a knee injury derailed his senior season.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

After not being selected in the 1988 NFL Draft, Giftopoulos signed with 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 ...

on May 11, 1988. He was released by the Steelers on August 23.

Saskatchewan Roughriders

The

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

selected Giftopoulos with the sixth overall pick in the 1988 CFL entry draft. After being cut by the Steelers, Giftopoulos refused to report to practice and asked for a trade.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

The

traded for Giftopoulos and a second-round draft selection in exchange for two other players. He initially spent time at linebacker, but then moved to defensive line, then offensive line, then back to linebacker.

Personal life

Pete's father Paul Giftopoulos was a professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

before immigrating to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Two of Pete's brothers also played college football. Pete also played

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 soccer in high school and threw

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. After his playing career finishes, Giftopoulos became a restaurant entrepreneur in Hamilton and later returned to Penn State for kinesiology classes. He married and had children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giftopoulos, Pete Living people 1965 births Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian people of Greek descent American football linebackers American football tight ends Canadian football linebackers Canadian football defensive linemen Canadian football offensive linemen Penn State Nittany Lions football players Players of Canadian football from Ontario Pittsburgh Steelers players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players