Anthony T. Calvelli (July 16, 1915 – May 17, 1979) 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 ...

player and track and field athlete. Calvelli was born in 1915 at

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

, and attended Stockton High School. Calvelli initially attended San Mateo Junior College and then transferred to

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. He played college football at

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

from 1936 to 1938. He was selected by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

with the 97th pick in the

1939 NFL Draft The 1939 National Football League Draft was held on December 9, 1938, at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Cardinals selected center Ki Aldrich. Player selections Round one ...

. He played for the Lions during the 1939 and 1940 seasons, appearing in 18 games. In 1941, he was inducted into the Army and played for the Moffett Field football team in 1941. In 1942 and 1943, he played center for the Second Air Force football team, including the undefeated

1942 Second Air Force Bombers football team The 1942 Second Air Force Bombers football team represented the Second Air Force during the 1942 college football season. The team, based at Fort George Wright in Spokane, Washington, compiled an 11–0–1 record and defeated the Hardin–Simmo ...

. In 1944, he served at McClellan Field near Sacramento. After completing four-and-a-half years of military service, Calvelli returned to professional football. He played for the San Francisco Clippers of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League in 1946 as a player-coach and with the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

of 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 ...

in 1947. He died in 1979 at age 63 in

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwoo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calvelli, Tony 1915 births 1979 deaths American football centers Stanford Cardinal football players Detroit Lions players Players of American football from Stockton, California San Francisco 49ers players