Jump to content
 







Main menu
    


Navigation  


●Main page
 ●Contents
 ●Current events
 ●Random article
 ●About Wikipedia
 ●Contact us
 ●Donate
  



Contribute  


●Help
 ●Learn to edit
 ●Community portal
 ●Recent changes
 ●Upload file
  







Search  

































●Create account

●Log in
 









●Create account
 ● Log in
  



Pages for logged out editors learn more  


●Contributions
 ●Talk
  


















Contents

   



(Top)
  


1 Biography  




2 References  













Paul Salata






●مصرى
 ●Simple English
  
Edit links
  








●Article
 ●Talk
  
















●Read
 ●Edit
 ●View history
  







Tools
    


Actions  


●Read
 ●Edit
 ●View history
  



General  


●What links here
 ●Related changes
 ●Upload file
 ●Special pages
 ●Permanent link
 ●Page information
 ●Cite this page
 ●Get shortened URL
 ●Download QR code
 ●Wikidata item
  



Print/export  


●Download as PDF
 ●Printable version
  















Appearance
    

 





From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  

Paul Salata
refer to caption
Salata in 1949
Personal information
Born:(1926-10-17)October 17, 1926
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died:October 16, 2021(2021-10-16) (aged 94)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Career information
High school:Los Angeles (CA) Franklin
College:Southern California
Position:End
NFL draft:1951 / Round: 10 / Pick: 118
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • CFL All-Star (1952)
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:50
Receiving yards:618
Touchdowns:4
Player stats at PFR

Paul Thomas Salata (October 17, 1926 – October 16, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL), All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and Western Interprovincial Football Union (WIFU).

Biography[edit]

Salata on a 1950 Bowman football card.

Paul Salata was born to a Serbian-born father and second generation Serbian-American mother. After his college football days at USC[1] Salata played for the AAFC/NFL's San Francisco 49ers (1949–1950) and the AAFC's Baltimore Colts (1950). After the Colts franchise folded in 1950 he was declared draft-eligible and was subsequently drafted in the tenth round of the 1951 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He scored the 49ers final touchdown in the All-American Football Conference, as well as the team's first TD in the NFL.[2] He also played three final seasons in Canada including in 1952 with the Calgary Stampeders, where he was an all-star, and in 1953 with the Ottawa Rough Riders.

In later years, Salata became known for his creation in 1976 of the Mr. Irrelevant Award in the NFL Draft, awarded annually to the last overall pick in the year's draft.[3] After retiring from football, he joined his family's Southern California construction business.[1] He has also acted in a number of Hollywood movies.[4] He played Tony Minelli in Angels in the Outfield (1951) and appeared, uncredited, in the 1953 film Stalag 17 as a prisoner.

Salata died on October 16, 2021, one day before his 95th birthday.[3] He was buried at Pacific View Memorial Park.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Belson, Ken (April 30, 2017). "N.F.L. Draft's 'Irrelevants'? Says Who?". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  • ^ Maiocco, Matt (2011). San Francisco 49ers: Where Have You Gone?. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 16. ISBN 978-1613210451.
  • ^ a b Beth Harris, "Paul Salata, Creator of Mr. Irrelevant Award, Dies at 94," Los Angeles Times, Oct. 16, 2021.
  • ^ "Paul Salata". IMDb. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  • ^ Paul T. Salata


    • Stub icon

    This biographical article relating to an American football wide receiver born in the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • t
  • e

    • Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paul_Salata&oldid=1225914666"
    Categories: 
    ●1926 births
     ●2021 deaths
     ●American football ends
     ●Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) players
     ●Burials at Pacific View Memorial Park
     ●Calgary Stampeders players
     ●Ottawa Rough Riders players
     ●San Francisco 49ers players
     ●USC Trojans baseball players
     ●USC Trojans football players
     ●Players of American football from Los Angeles
     ●American people of Serbian descent
     ●Male actors from Los Angeles
     ●Players of Canadian football from Los Angeles
     ●American football wide receiver, pre-1940 birth stubs
     Hidden categories: 
    ●Articles with short description
     ●Short description is different from Wikidata
     ●Use American English from October 2021
     ●All Wikipedia articles written in American English
     ●Short description matches Wikidata
     ●NFL player missing current team parameter
     ●Infobox NFL biography articles missing alt text
     ●All stub articles
      


    ●This page was last edited on 27 May 2024, at 13:55 (UTC).
    ●Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.


    ●Privacy policy
    ●About Wikipedia
    ●Disclaimers
    ●Contact Wikipedia
    ●Code of Conduct
    ●Developers
    ●Statistics
    ●Cookie statement
    ●Mobile view


    Wikimedia Foundation
    Powered by MediaWiki