Tom Dimitroff Sr.

Thomas George Dimitroff (June 6, 1935 – January 20, 1996) was an American gridiron football player and coach.

Tom Dimitroff
No. 15
Born:(1935-06-06)June 6, 1935
Barberton, Ohio
Died:January 20, 1996(1996-01-20) (aged 60)
Strongsville, Ohio
Career information
CFL statusAmerican
Position(s)QB
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight200 lb (91 kg)
CollegeMiami (OH)
NFL draft1957 / Round: 25 / Pick: 294
Career history
As administrator
1984–1986Ottawa Rough Riders (director of player personnel)
1987–1996Cleveland Browns (scout)
As coach
1969–1972Miami (OH) (assistant)
1973Kansas State (assistant)
1974–1977Ottawa Rough Riders (QB/OC)
1978Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1979–1983Guelph
1986Ottawa Rough Riders
As player
1957–1958Ottawa Rough Riders
1960New York Titans
1960Boston Patriots
Career highlights and awards
  • Grey Cup champion (1976)

Playing career

Dimitroff was a two-time All-Mid-American Conference quarterback and defensive back at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He passed for 1,096 yards and 11 touchdowns, and ran for 542 yards. As a kicker, he converted on 22 extra-point attempts and had a punting average of 36.2 yards. He played on two MAC championship football teams under Ara Parseghian and John Pont.[1] He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 25th round of the 1957 Draft, but instead signed with the Ottawa Rough Riders Interprovincial Rugby Football Union. On August 23, 1958, Dimitroff started for Ottawa in the first regular-season game in Canadian Football League history. In May 1959, Dimitroff was traded along with Larry Hayes, Jim Marshall, Frank Fraser, and Karl Hilzinger to the Saskatchewan Roughriders for quarterback Frank Tripucka. Dimitroff retired shortly after the trade, never playing a game for Saskatchewan.

In 1960, Dimitroff came out of retirement to play for the newly formed American Football League (AFL). He signed with the New York Titans,[2] but did not appear in any games for them. He later signed with the Boston Patriots and appeared in three games, throwing two incomplete passes.[3]

Coaching career

After serving as an assistant coach at Barberton High School and Wadsworth High School, Dimitroff returned to Miami, where he was an assistant from 1969 to 1972. After one season at Kansas State, Dimitroff joined former Rough Rider teammate George Brancato in Ottawa. From 1974 to 1977, he served as the Ottawa Rough Riders quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, helping coach Ottawa to victory in the 1976 Grey Cup, the final Grey Cup victory in Rough Riders history.

In 1978, he became the head coach of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He was fired after five games and replaced by John Payne.[4] Following his departure from Hamilton, Dimitroff coached the Guelph Gryphons football team, where his son Randy was quarterback from 1982 to 1985.[5]

Dimitroff left coaching in 1984 to serve as Director of Player Personnel for the Ottawa Rough Riders. In 1986, he was named the team's interim head coach after the firing of Joe Moss.[6] The Rough Riders were 0–4–1 under Dimitroff and in 1987 he joined the Cleveland Browns as a college scout.[7]

Family and death

He was the father of former Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff.[8] Dimitroff died on January 20, 1996 in Strongsville, Ohio.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Die Uni für Finanzen und mehr – muredhawks.com". Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  2. "Tom Dimitroff Signs With New York Titans". The Hartford Courant. May 13, 1960. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  3. "Tom Dimitroff NFL & AFL Football Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  4. "Tiger Cats Fire Head Coach". Toledo Blade. August 11, 1978. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  5. http://www.gryphons.ca/static/Football_History.pdf
  6. "Elsewhere..." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 30, 1986. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  7. "Transactions". New York Times. February 18, 1987. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  8. https://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-patriots-falcons-dimitroff-20170130-story.html
  9. "Thomas G. Dimitroff, 60, Football Player, Coach, Scout". Akron Beacon Journal. January 22, 1996. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
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