Tom Dimitroff, Sr.

Who was Tom Dimitroff, Sr.?

Thomas George Dimitroff was a gridiron football player and coach. He is the father of current Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

Dimitroff was a two-time All-Mid-American Conference quarterback and defensive back for Miami. 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. 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. He signed with the New York Titans, 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.