Roman John "Ray" Piskor (August 19, 1917 – August 1981) 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 ...

tackle Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking ...

who played three seasons in the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

(AAFC) between 1946 and 1948. Piskor played for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Browns and the Chicago Rockets. Piskor grew up in North Tonawanda, New York and attended

Niagara University Niagara University (NU) is a private Catholic university in the Vincentian tradition in Lewiston in Niagara County, New York. It is run by the Congregation of the Mission and has 3,300 undergraduate students in 50 academic programs. Appro ...

, where he was a star lineman. After several years in the Army Air Force during World War II, he was signed by the Yankees in 1946. Piskor was traded to the Browns the following year, when the team won the AAFC championship. He spent a final season with the Rockets in 1948.

High school and college career

Piskor attended North Tonawanda High School in North Tonawanda, New York. He enrolled at

in 1938 and was a star lineman on the school's football team. Piskor joined the Army Air Force in July 1942 during World War II and did his basic training in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. Piskor was a member of an Eastern All-Army team coached by Robert Neyland in 1942. He later transferred to a base in Greensboro, North Carolina and played for its Tech Hawks football team. He went to fight overseas in 1944 with the Third Air Force.

Professional career

After his discharge from the Air Force, Piskor joined the New York Yankees of the

(AAFC) in 1946. The Yankees finished the year with a 10–3–1 win-loss-tie record and faced the Cleveland Browns in the AAFC championship. The Yankees lost the game 14–9. Piskor, who worked for the Yankees as an accountant in the offseason, was sent to the

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

in 1947 and then traded to the Browns for John Duda and Jack Carpenter. Cleveland finished the season with a 12–1–1 record and won the AAFC championship, beating the Yankees in the title game for the second year in a row. Piskor was sent to the Chicago Rockets in 1948 as part of a league-led effort to balance out talent among the AAFC's teams. He spent one season with the Rockets before retiring from professional football.

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Piskor, Roman 1917 births 1981 deaths Cleveland Browns (AAFC) players New York Yankees (AAFC) players Chicago Rockets players People from North Tonawanda, New York United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II