Walter A. Gorinski (December 20, 1919 – July 3, 1977) was a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player 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

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 ...

. After attending

Hurst High School Hurst may refer to: Places England * Hurst, Berkshire, a village * Hurst, North Yorkshire, a hamlet * Hurst, a settlement within the village of Martock, Somerset * Hurst, West Sussex, a hamlet * Hurst Spit, a shingle spit in Hampshire ** Hurs ...

, located in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, Gorinski attended 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 ...

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. Gorinski made his professional debut in the NFL in 1946 with the Steelers. He played his entire 1-year career for Pittsburgh. He is the uncle of

Bob Gorinski Robert John Gorinski (born January 7, 1952) is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played one season () for the Minnesota Twins, with a .195 batting average. Gorinski is a native of Calumet, Pennsylvania and a g ...

, a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in . Many sources state that Gorinski attended Mount Pleasant Area High School, located in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. However, the school was not open until 1961 well after Gorinski's graduation in 1938.

NFL

Gorinski was drafted by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in the 17th round (152nd overall) of the 1943 Draft. That year the Steelers and the Eagles merged their teams during the 1943 season and became the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh "Steagles". The merger was dissolved after the 1943 season, as it was not intended to be permanent. The Eagles, received enough players back from the war and resumed their traditional operation. Gorinski did not play with the merged teams he played only one season with the Steelers in

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

College

On November 29, 1941, with Gorinski in at fullback, the LSU Tigers defeated Tulane 19-0 in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. This victory resulted in the

Tiger Rag "Tiger Rag" is a jazz standard that was recorded and copyrighted by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in 1917. It is one of the most recorded jazz compositions. In 2003, the 1918 recording of "Tiger Rag" was entered into the U.S. Library of Cong ...

being awarded to LSU. In 1942, Gorinski was awarded LSU's Percy E. Roberts MVP Award, which is presented to the athletes selected as the most valuable offensive and defensive players.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorinski, Walt 1921 births 1977 deaths People from Latrobe, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Steelers players LSU Tigers football players