Vince Mazza

Vince Mazza

Date of birth	March 25, 1925
Place of birth	Niagara Falls, New York, U.S.
Date of death	December 5, 1993(1993-12-05) (aged 68)
Place of death	Winona, Ontario, Canada
Career information
Position(s)	End, Tackle
US college	None
Career history
As player
1945–1946	Detroit Lions (NFL)
1947–1949	Buffalo Bills (AAFC)
1950–1954	Hamilton Tiger-Cats (IRFU)
Awards	1952 Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy
Career stats
Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Vincent L. Mazza (March 25, 1925 – December 5, 1993) was an all-star Canadian football player. He was a two-way player, playing offensive and defensive line, and sometimes tight end.

Mazza did not attend college, but went directly to the pro leagues from Trott Vocational High School. He played for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) for six games in 1945 and 1946. He moved to the up-start All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in 1947, with the Buffalo Bills. He played three years (1947–1949) there, mostly as a lineman, catching two passes and making one interception, and returning a lateral pass for a touchdown. He played in their 1948 championship loss to the Cleveland Browns.

He was recruited by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union, and played five seasons with them (1950–1954). He was an all-star as an end from 1950 to 1952, was a double all-star in 1953 (both offense and defense) and was an offensive line all-star in 1954. He won both the Grey Cup and the Jeff Russel Memorial Trophy as best player in the East in 1952.

Vince settled in Winona, Ontario, and continued in the game as the color man for CHML radio for the Tiger-Cat games. He was often seen at the Winona High School football practices helping to develop young athletes.

External links

• NFL.com player page