by PolackTony » Wed Jun 18, 2025 11:20 am
B. wrote: ↑Wed Jun 18, 2025 10:40 am
I'm into old NFL stuff and have never come across the name but I did see a Joe Rosanova from Chicago commented on a Facebook post that his father played for the Bears for three years circa WWII. Don't know if Luigi / Lou was Joe's father or how the WWII era matches up with Luigi Rosanova's age but there was at least a Rosanova from Chicago who apparently played for the Bears a long f'n time ago.
Good catch. Lou Rosanova was born in 1922, so he would be of the right age, and did have a son named Joseph.
The below is from an FBI Cerone bug in 1922. Given that Cerone had been locked up for a golf outing earlier the same day by Lou Rosanova, the “Lou Russo” later telling people that he had once played for the Bears is probably him.
On July 30th of 1944, the Tribune briefly mentioned that a 23-year-old defensive end named Louis Rosanova, a local Chicagoan, had been signed by the Bears; though they had the correct age off by a year, I don’t know of another Lou Rosanova of around the same age in Chicago. August 17th of 1944, the Tribune reported that the Bears had cut Rosanova and this name was never reported in the papers after that in connection with the Bears. If he had in fact had a knee injury, it must have occurred during a preseason scrimmage in the less than three weeks that he was signed, though no such injury was reported either. If this was him, as does seem likely, then the apparently extremely short duration of his tenure with the Bears would explain why none of the reporting on him that I’ve seen, or even his own obituary, mentioned this.
Extra point goes to Scott B, though I remain skeptical about any claims that he was ever an “enforcer” (not that this has a clear and consistent definition anyway). If he was ever involved in rough stuff, it would have been when he was a kid, rather than in the 60s-80s when he was managing country clubs and playing in ProAm golf tournaments.
[quote=B. post_id=295970 time=1750268424 user_id=127]
I'm into old NFL stuff and have never come across the name but I did see a Joe Rosanova from Chicago commented on a Facebook post that his father played for the Bears for three years circa WWII. Don't know if Luigi / Lou was Joe's father or how the WWII era matches up with Luigi Rosanova's age but there was at least a Rosanova from Chicago who apparently played for the Bears a long f'n time ago.
[/quote]
Good catch. Lou Rosanova was born in 1922, so he would be of the right age, and did have a son named Joseph.
The below is from an FBI Cerone bug in 1922. Given that Cerone had been locked up for a golf outing earlier the same day by Lou Rosanova, the “Lou Russo” later telling people that he had once played for the Bears is probably him.
[img]https://theblackhand.club/forum/ext/dmzx/imageupload/files/b0351f36acffe590f7826d203a513c4a.jpeg[/img]
On July 30th of 1944, the Tribune briefly mentioned that a 23-year-old defensive end named Louis Rosanova, a local Chicagoan, had been signed by the Bears; though they had the correct age off by a year, I don’t know of another Lou Rosanova of around the same age in Chicago. August 17th of 1944, the Tribune reported that the Bears had cut Rosanova and this name was never reported in the papers after that in connection with the Bears. If he had in fact had a knee injury, it must have occurred during a preseason scrimmage in the less than three weeks that he was signed, though no such injury was reported either. If this was him, as does seem likely, then the apparently extremely short duration of his tenure with the Bears would explain why none of the reporting on him that I’ve seen, or even his own obituary, mentioned this.
Extra point goes to Scott B, though I remain skeptical about any claims that he was ever an “enforcer” (not that this has a clear and consistent definition anyway). If he was ever involved in rough stuff, it would have been when he was a kid, rather than in the 60s-80s when he was managing country clubs and playing in ProAm golf tournaments.