Steve Filipowicz

{{Short description|American football & baseball player (1921–1975)}}

{{Infobox NFL biography

| name = Steve Filipowicz

| image = George Cheverko and Steve Filipowicz 1942.jpg

| caption = Filipowicz (bottom) with Fordham teammate George Cheverko, circa 1942

| number = 8, 23

| position = Back

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1921|6|28|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Donora, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1975|2|21|1921|6|28}}

| death_place = Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| height_ft = 5

| height_in = 8

| weight_lb = 200

| college = Fordham

| draftyear = 1943

| draftround = 1

| draftpick = 6

| pastteams =

New York Giants ({{NFL Year|1945|1946}})

| highlights =

Second-team All-American (1941)
First-team All-Eastern (1941)
2× Second-team All-Eastern (1940, 1942)

| statlabel1 = Rushing yards

| statvalue1 = 145

| statlabel2 = Rushing average

| statvalue2 = 2.6

| statlabel3 = Receptions

| statvalue3 = 11

| statlabel4 = Receiving yards

| statvalue4 = 133

| statlabel5 = Total touchdowns

| statvalue5 = 5

| pfr = FiliSt20

|module=

{{Infobox baseball biography|embed=yes

|name=Steve Filipowicz

|image=

|position=Outfielder

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date=

|birth_place=

|death_date=

|death_place=

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=September 3

|debutyear=1944

|debutteam=New York Giants

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=October 3

|finalyear=1948

|finalteam=Cincinnati Reds

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.223

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=2

|stat3label=RBI

|stat3value=26

|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

|hoftype = National

|hofdate=

|hofvote=

|teams=

New York Giants ({{Baseball year|1944}}–{{Baseball year|1945}})
Cincinnati Reds ({{Baseball year|1948}})

|highlights=

}}}}

Stephen Charles "Flip" Filipowicz (June 28, 1921 – February 21, 1975) was an American professional football and baseball player. Filipowicz and Olympic great Jim Thorpe share the distinction of being the only two men to have played for the New York Giants of both baseball and football.{{cite book |last1=Bogdan |first1=James J. |title=Quarterbacks: A Legacy of Western Pennsylvania |date=19 September 2024 |publisher=Dorrance Publishing |isbn=979-8-89341-656-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9OQrEQAAQBAJ |language=en}}

Football

Filipowicz, a fullback and quarterback who played at Fordham University from 1941 to 1943, was selected by the New York Giants in the first round in the 1943 NFL draft. Although an undersized back at 5'8", 198 lbs, he was still taken with the sixth overall pick. In his first season, he rushed for 142 yards on 53 attempts and had 49 receiving yards. He also attempted two incomplete passes. In 1946 he made seven receptions for 84 yards and caught four interceptions as a blocking back.{{cite web |title=Steve Filipowicz |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/F/FiliSt20.htm |website=Pro Football Reference |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |access-date=June 30, 2022}} He retired after the season to become head football, basketball, and baseball coach at Mount Saint Mary's University.{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Bill |title=The Baseball Necrology: The Post-Baseball Lives and Deaths of More Than 7,600 Major League Players and Others |date=11 July 2015 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-1-4766-0930-0 |page=128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4oEwCgAAQBAJ |language=en}} He resigned the following year to play baseball.

Baseball

After a successful season as an outfielder and catcher for the Jersey City Giants, Filipowicz made his major league debut on September 3, 1944, for the New York Giants. He appeared in 15 games, collecting 8 hits in 41 at bats (.195). He appeared in 35 games the next season and batted .205 with 2 home runs. He made a return to baseball in 1948 with the Sunbury Reds of the Interstate League. He was called up to the Cincinnati Reds later that season and collected 9 hits in 26 at bats (.346).{{cite web |title=Steve Filipowicz |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/filipst01.shtml |website=Baseball Reference |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |access-date=June 30, 2022}} He spent the 1949 & 1950 seasons with the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League and the Tulsa Oilers of the Texas League.

Later years

Filipowicz was in the United States Marines during World War II. He worked for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Revenue as a corporate tax officer for 17 years. Filipowicz died on February 21, 1975 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and was buried in Kulpmont, Pennsylvania.