Bob Celeri
| Personal information | |||||||||
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| Born: | June 1, 1927 Fort Bragg, California | ||||||||
| Died: | March 9, 1975 (aged 47) Buffalo, New York | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Cal-Berkeley | ||||||||
| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1950 / round: 10 / pick: 127 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Robert Lavern Celeri (June 1, 1927 – March 9, 1975) was a quarterback who played for the University of California, two seasons in the National Football League (NFL), and a total of eight seasons in two Canadian leagues – the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU) and the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU).
Early life
Celeri was born in Fort Bragg, California to Hugo Celeria and Pearl Mable Bishopb – he was the youngest of their three children, all boys.[1] He attended the University of California where he played on the varsity football team for four seasons.[2] His first season was 1944, however he lost playing time after being declared academically ineligible at the start of November,[3] when the team still had four games left to play.[4] He then served in the US Navy during 1945 and 1946.[5] Celeri returned for the 1947 through 1949 seasons, with one of his teammates being Jackie Jensen, who went on to play professional baseball. The 1948 and 1949 football teams were both Pacific Coast Conference champions, and both teams played in (and lost) the Rose Bowl. During the 1949 season, Celeri passed for 1081 yards[6] and was selected as MVP by his teammates.[7] After the 1949 season concluded with a Rose Bowl loss, Celeri played in two additional games. The first was the Hula Bowl in Honolulu, where he helped the College All-Stars defeat an All-Hawaii team,[8] and the second was a for-pay game matching Celeri against fellow-quarterback Eddie LeBaron of College of the Pacific, played at the Grape Bowl in Lodi, California, which Celeri's team lost 7–6 due to a missed extra point.[9]
Professional career
Celeri was selected in the 10th round of the 1950 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers,[2] although he did not play for them. He played 11 games for the New York Yanks in 1951, and 8 games for the Dallas Texans in 1952.[10]
Celeri then quarterbacked in Canada, first for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the IRFU in 1953, and then for the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen of the ORFU from 1954 until the league folded in 1960.[11] He was MVP of the ORFU in 1954 and 1955. Celeri was later inducted into the Waterloo Region Hall of Fame.[12]
Post-playing years
Celeri became head coach at Waterloo Lutheran University in 1960.[5] In 1968, he joined the Buffalo Bills in a personnel role, working with head coach Harvey Johnson.[5] Celeri died in 1975, at the age of 47 of an apparent heart attack;[13] he was married and had two sons and a daughter.[13][14]
Notes
- ^a July 9, 1903 in Fort Bragg, California – January 15, 1965 in Mendocino County, California
- ^b December 18, 1904 in California – April 13, 1959 in San Francisco County, California
References
- ^ "Family: Celeri, Hugo / Bishop, Pearl Mabel". www.hhennigar.ca. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- ^ a b "HISTORY OF CAL FOOTBALL, YEAR-BY-YEAR" (PDF). 2007 California Golden Bears Football Media Guide. Retrieved January 8, 2017 – via cstv.com.
- ^ U.P. (November 2, 1944). "CELERI OUT". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved January 11, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "1944 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SRCFB. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Buffalo Bills Annual Information". Buffalo Bills 1974 Yearbook. May 23, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2017 – via buffalobillsannualinformation.blogspot.com.
- ^ Bush, David (September 1, 2004). "RANKING THE QUARTERBACKS / The best of Stanford and Cal". sfgate.com. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- ^ "Cal Football Team Awards". calbears.com. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
- ^ AP (January 11, 1950). "CAL GRIDDERS LEAD TEAM IN HONOLULU WIN". Oakland Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Lea, Ralph; Kennedy, Christi (September 18, 2010). "Grape Bowl stadium featured major college showdown in 1950". Lodi News-Sentinel. Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via lodinews.com.
- ^ "NFL All-time Players: Bob Celeri". National Football League. Retrieved 2008-10-28 – via NFL.com.
- ^ http://www.cflapedia.com/Database/c.htm
- ^ http://www.waterlooregionmuseum.com/region-hall-of-fame/inductees-a-to-c/
- ^ a b "Robert Celeri, 47; Bills Talent Scout". The Times Record. Troy, New York. March 11, 1975. Retrieved January 11, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Curran, Bob (March 29, 1989). "MAGUIRE TO MARK AN ANNIVERSARY". The Buffalo News. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
Further reading
- "LeBaron-Celeri game, Lodi Grape Bowl, 1950". Michael Perovich. June 13, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via YouTube.
- "New York Yanks (1-7-2) 31, Green Bay Packers (3-7) 28". Milwaukee Journal. December 2, 1951. Retrieved January 10, 2017 – via packershistory.net.
- Hibner, John C. "A vote for the most exciting 'Big Game'" (PDF). Retrieved January 10, 2017.
narrative of Cal at Stanford game played 22 Nov 1947
External links
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