Sandro B. Vitiello (born February 21, 1958) is an Italian former

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 ...

who played one season for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

. He also played two seasons with the

Washington Federals Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

of the

USFL The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. Vitiello was born on February 21, 1958, in

Broccostella Broccostella is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about east of Rome and about northeast of Frosinone. Broccostella borders the following municipalities: Arpino, Campoli Appennino, Fon ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. His family moved to

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

, when he was 7. He went to

East Meadow High School East Meadow High School is a public high school in the East Meadow Union Free School District in East Meadow, New York. The school was founded in 1953 and serves students in grades 9−12. School As of the 2018–19 school year, the school h ...

and played soccer there. When he went to college he became a placekicker. He went to college at UMass. He was left–footed but could also kick field goals with his right foot. He was drafted in the 10th round (252nd overall) by the

in the

1980 NFL Draft The 1980 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980, at the New York She ...

. Vitiello played two games with the Bengals his rookie season, and was signed and released twice by the team. In his two games he made two field goal attempts, and an extra point. The next season he signed with 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 ...

but did not make any appearances. Two years later he signed with the

of the

. In his first season with the Federals, he played in eight games, and made 10 of 17 field goal attempts. He also played in two games the next season, going 0 for 4 on field goals but 2 for 3 on extra points. 1984 was his last season of professional football.

References

1958 births Living people Italian players of American football Cincinnati Bengals players American football placekickers UMass Minutemen football players East Meadow High School alumni {{Amfoot-kicker-stub