Paul Salata Wiki – Paul Salata Biography
Paul Thomas Salata was a professional American football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL), All-America Football Conference (AAFC), and Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU). He was born to a second-generation Serbian father and a Serbian-American mother. After his college football days at USC, Salata played for the San Francisco 49ers of the AAFC / NFL (1949-1950) and the Baltimore Colts of the AAFC (1950).
After the Colts franchise withdrew in 1950, he was declared eligible for the draft and was subsequently selected in the 10th round of the 1951 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He scored the 49er’s final touchdown in the American Football Conference, as well as the team’s first TD in the NFL. He also played three final seasons in Canada; 1952 with the Calgary Stampeders, where he starred, and 1953 with the Ottawa Rough Riders.
In later years, Salata became known for creating the Mr. Irrelevant Award in the NFL Draft, which is awarded annually to the last overall draft pick of the year. After retiring from soccer, he joined his family’s construction business in Southern California. He has also acted in several Hollywood movies. He played Tony Minelli in Angels in the Outfield (1951) and appeared, uncredited, in the 1953 film Stalag 17 as a prisoner.
Paul Salata Age
Paul Salata was 94 years old.
Wife
Salata is survived by his second wife, Carolyn, son Bradley, daughter Melanie Fitch, two granddaughters, and brother George. He was preceded in death by his first wife Beverly in 2003.
Paul Salata Cause of Death
He died of natural causes at his home in Newport Beach, California, the day before his 95th birthday, his nephew Nick Salata told The Associated Press.
Stephanie Yelverton Zunker’s father was 61 when he died of lung cancer. He was an active person and did not smoke. Knowing that her father was already in the later stages of the disease at the time of diagnosis was confusing and shocking.
The “Irrelevant Week” generated so much publicity that in 1979 the Los Angeles Rams, who owned the penultimate pick, intentionally passed by to allow the Steelers, with the last pick, to pick first. Pittsburgh also wanted publicity and it happened too. Both teams refused to pick a player until commissioner Pete Rozelle forced them to pick, and the Steelers won. That led to the so-called Salata Rule, which prohibits teams from passing to obtain the final selection.
Sarah Harmeyer didn’t know anyone when she moved to Dallas. Now many know her and among themselves. In February, a Mr. Irrelevant played and won a Super Bowl for the first time. Placekicker Ryan Succop of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started in the game. He was the last pick in the 2009 draft.
Salata was a wide receiver at USC in 1944, ‘46, and ‘47. The Trojans won league titles each year and played in the Rose Bowl in 1945, when Salata caught a touchdown in their 25-0 victory over Tennessee. He missed the following season while serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II. Salata was also an infielder on the 1948 Trojans baseball team that won the school’s first College World Series title. He later played minor league baseball.
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