# Sam Dana

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{{Short description|American football player (1903–2007)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox CFL biography
| name = Sam Dana (born Samuel Salemi)
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1903|8|7}}
| birth_place = [Brooklyn, New York](/source/Brooklyn%2C_New_York), US
| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|10|29|1903|8|7}}
| death_place = [Buffalo, New York](/source/Buffalo%2C_New_York), US
| team = 
| number = 
| status = 
| position1 = [RB](/source/running_back)
| height_ft = 
| height_in = 
| weight_lb = 
| college = [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University)
| playing_years1 = 1926
| playing_team1 = [Hartford Blues](/source/Hartford_Blues)
| playing_years2 = 1928
| playing_team2 = [New York Yankees](/source/New_York_Yankees_(NFL))
| career_highlights = 
}}

'''Sam Dana''' (August 7, 1903 – October 29, 2007), born '''Samuel Salemi''',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SaleSa20.htm |title=Sam Salemi |website=Pro Football Reference |publisher=Sports Reference |access-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref> was an American professional [football](/source/American_football) player who was a [running back](/source/running_back) for two seasons for the [Hartford Blues](/source/Hartford_Blues) and [New York Yankees](/source/New_York_Yankees_(NFL)). At the time of his death, Dana was thought to be the oldest living [NFL](/source/National_Football_League) player. He is the 2nd-longest lived NFL player in history.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20071031%2FSPORTS%2F710310941%2F1002%2FSPORTS&nclick_check=1 |title=Sam Dana, NFL's oldest former player, dies at 104 |date=October 31, 2007 |newspaper=[The Courier-Journal](/source/The_Courier-Journal) |access-date=June 27, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120728162749/http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20071031%2FSPORTS%2F710310941%2F1002%2FSPORTS&nclick_check=1  |archive-date=July 28, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=John Wawrow |title=Sam Dana, 104; called oldest ex-NFL player |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117996047/sam-dana-104-called-oldest-ex-nfl/ |access-date=5 February 2023 |work=[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe) |agency=[Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press) |date=1 November 2007 |page=49 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{open access}}</ref>

==Biography==
Dana was known as Sam "Smoke" Salemi during his playing days. He became a football player at the suggestion of a teacher at [New Utrecht High School](/source/New_Utrecht_High_School) in Brooklyn after seeing him weave through desks as a fellow student was chasing him. He attended [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) and was a football teammate of [Lou Gehrig](/source/Lou_Gehrig). Dana attended [St John's University](/source/St._John's_University_(New_York_City)) and [Canisius College](/source/Canisius_College). After retiring from football, he became an agent for the [Internal Revenue Service](/source/Internal_Revenue_Service) (IRS). He legally changed his last name to Dana in 1945.<ref>{{cite news |title=NFL's oldest living ex-player celebrates No. 100 with Bills |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117996098/nfls-oldest-living-ex-player/ |access-date=5 February 2023 |work=[The Indianapolis Star](/source/The_Indianapolis_Star) |agency=[Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press) |date=7 August 2003 |page=32 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Sam Dana should be a lock for NFL's all-century team |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117996132/sam-dana-should-be-a-lock-for-nfls/ |access-date=5 February 2023 |work=[The Courier-Journal](/source/The_Courier-Journal) |date=8 August 2003 |page=E2 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{open access}}</ref>

Dana was mistaken for a baseball player who died in 1969, the mixup being published in the NFL's ''Total Football'' encyclopedia. He resurfaced in 2003 upon [turning 100](/source/centenarian) when his son notified the [Pro Football Hall of Fame](/source/Pro_Football_Hall_of_Fame) that he was living in a nursing home in [Kenmore, New York](/source/Kenmore%2C_New_York). He was a guest at the Hall of Fame's Senior Citizen Day later that year and was presented with a special jersey by the [Buffalo Bills](/source/Buffalo_Bills) bearing 100 emblazoned on it upon visiting their training camp. Dana died at the age of 104 in 2007.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goldstein |first=Richard |date=2007-11-01 |title=Sam Dana, 104, Oldest Former N.F.L. Player, Is Dead |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/sports/football/01dana.html |access-date=2023-08-15 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[List of centenarians (National Football League players)](/source/List_of_centenarians_(National_Football_League_players))

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dana, Sam}}
Category:1903 births
Category:2007 deaths
Category:American men centenarians
Category:American football running backs
Category:Columbia Lions football players
Category:Hartford Blues players
Category:New York Yankees (NFL) players
Category:20th-century American sportsmen

{{runningback-1900s-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sam Dana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Dana) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Dana?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.