James Vincent Castiglia (September 30, 1918 – December 26, 2007) 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 wi ...

fullback 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 ...

for 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 ...

and 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 play ...

.Jim Castiglia Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards - databaseFootball.com
He also played for the Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference. In 1941 he played his first season with the Eagles, carrying the ball 60 times for 183 yards. In 1942 Castiglia left the NFL to play professional baseball in the major leagues. Castiglia played for the Philadelphia Athletics, and is recorded as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

, but was mostly used as a

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

, catching in just three games. He is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Though he only played 16 games, he hit extremely well, going 7-for-18, a .389

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. He had two

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

and scored two runs. During his season, the 23-year-old

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

, a graduate of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, stood 5'11" and weighed 200 lbs. Following World War II, Castiglia returned to the NFL to play the 1945 and 1946 seasons with the Eagles. In 1947, he played two games with the Colts before moving to the Redskins. Castiglia retired from the NFL following the 1948 season. Castiglia died December 26, 2007, in Rockville, Maryland. He is buried in

Gate of Heaven Cemetery Gate of Heaven Cemetery, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of New York City, was established in 1917 at 10 West Stevens Ave. in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, as a Roman Catholic burial site. Among its famous residents is ...

Aspen Hill, Maryland Aspen Hill is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located 6 miles north of Washington D.C. Its population as of the 2020 census was 51,063. Etymology The community name is d ...

.Jim Castiglia
. ''Find a Grave''. Retrieved March 7, 2019.

References

External links

* * 1918 births 2007 deaths Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Silver Spring, Maryland) Sportspeople from Passaic, New Jersey Georgetown Hoyas football players American football running backs United States Army personnel of World War II Philadelphia Eagles players Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players Washington Redskins players Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from New Jersey Philadelphia Athletics players Passaic High School alumni Military personnel from New Jersey {{runningback-1910s-stub