John Stroppa
Date of birth | (1926-01-02)January 2, 1926 |
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Place of birth | Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
Date of death | May 7, 2017(2017-05-07) (aged 91) |
Place of death | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
Career information | |
CFL status | National |
Position(s) | DB |
Career history | |
As player | |
1949–1951 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
Career highlights and awards | |
Awards | 1949 - Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy |
John Stroppa (January 2, 1926 – May 7, 2017) was an award-winning halfback who played in the Canadian Football League for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1949 to 1951.
A native of Winnipeg, Stroppa took the league by storm in 1949, being the surprise winner of the Dr. Beattie Martin Trophy for Canadian rookie of the year in the west.[1] He also played in the famed Mud Bowl, the 1950 Grey Cup but retired after a serious mid-season kidney injury in 1951.[2]
After his playing days Stroppa moved to Edmonton because of his job, and took up amateur officiating. He then became one of the few professional players to become a CFL referee, working 250 games in 15 years, after which he became the CFL's supervisor of officials for another 11 years. He died in Edmonton on May 7, 2017.[3]
References
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- t
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- 1949: Stroppa
- 1950: Brown
- 1951: Chambers
- 1952: Benson
- 1953: Sturtridge
- 1954: Bottoms
- 1955: Lunn
- 1956: Rauhaus
- 1957: Lashuk
- 1958: Radzick
- 1959: Janzen
- 1960: Beaumont
- 1961: Robinson
- 1962: Frechette
- 1963: Kempf
- 1964: Cooper
- 1965: Forwick
- 1966: Lefebvre
- 1967: Gerela
- 1968: Cranmer
- 1969: Easley
- 1970: Senst
- 1971: Kraemer
- 1972: McKee
- 1973: Richardson