John Tosi

offensive lineman who played two seasons in the National Football League

1939 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played two games as a Pirate before being traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers. He started one game in Brooklyn before being released; he spent the following four seasons in minor leagues, retiring in 1943. He unretired in 1944 and joined the Philadelphia Eagles

Wilmington Football Association, on Sundays.^[1] The Whitejackets won three consecutive league titles from 1931 to 1933.^[2][3][4] Under coach Johnny Oakes with Salesianum, Tosi earned All-Catholic and All-Philadelphia honors.^[a] He was offered many scholarships after graduating high school, including from Notre Dame. Tosi said, "I flew out to Notre Dame to discuss a football scholarship the school offered. They offered me a full scholarship, but I would still have to pay $150 a year. That was a lot of money and it was Depression time. My father was working only one day a week and had $1.50 in his pocket. There was no way I could come up with $150 a year to attend Notre Dame."^[5] Instead of taking Notre Dame's offer, he accepted a scholarship from Fordham. He spent just one year at Fordham, playing guard alongside future Pro Football Hall of Famer Vince Lombardi.^[5] When the coach at Fordham left and joined Niagara University, he took 15 players along with him, including Tosi. He played three seasons at Niagara, earning All-Catholic and All-East honors while playing center and linebacker. He also was named Little All-American.^[5]

Washington Redskins, after making just three appearances.^[9] Given $175 per game, Tosi made one appearance with Brooklyn, starting at center during their game against the Philadelphia Eagles^[10] before being released along with Beattie Feathers two days later.^[11] He also played for two teams in minor leagues that year, making one appearance for the Paterson Panthers before going to the local Wilmington Clippers. He appeared in four games with the Clippers, starting two.^[8] He was on their 1940 roster but did not play. In 1941, he played for the Roanoke Travelers of the Dixie League before returning to Wilmington in 1942. Tosi then retired, but in 1944, high school teammate Ed Michaels convinced him to make a return to football. He did, playing alongside Michaels as a guard for the Philadelphia Eagles.^[12] He was paid $375 per game under coach Greasy Neale, the most Tosi earned in his career.^[12] He played in just one game with the Eagles.^[8]