{{Short description|American football player (1914–1994)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox NFL biography | name = Steve Petro | image = Steve Petro 1942 (cropped).jpg | upright = .8 | caption = Petro in 1942 | number = 31 | position = Guard | birth_date = {{birth date|1914|10|21}} | birth_place = Johnstown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1994|8|15|1914|10|21}} | death_place = Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, U.S. | height_ft = 5 | height_in = 10 | weight_lbs = 195 | high_school = Johnstown | college = Pittsburgh (1935–1938) | draftyear = 1939 | draftround = 9 | draftpick = 72 | pastteams = * Brooklyn Dodgers ({{NFL Year|1940}}–{{NFL Year|1941}}) | highlights = * National champion (1937) * First-team All-Eastern (1938) | statlabel1 = Games played | statvalue1 = 17 | pfr = P/PetrSt20 }} '''Stephen Lawrence Petro''' (October 21, 1914 – August 15, 1994) was an American professional football guard who played two seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth round of the 1939 NFL draft after playing college football at the University of Pittsburgh.
==Early life and college== Stephen Lawrence Petro was born on October 21, 1914, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.<ref name="pfa">{{cite web | url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/players/p/petr01200.html | title=Steve Petro | publisher=Pro Football Archives | accessdate=23 June 2025}}</ref> He attended Greater Johnstown High School.<ref name="pfa"/>
Petro played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh under head coach Jock Sutherland. He was on the freshman team in 1935 and was a three-year letterman from 1936 to 1938.<ref name="pfa"/> The 1937 Panthers were named national champions. Petro earned Associated Press first-team All-Eastern honors his senior year in 1938.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cornell and Pitt Dominate AP All-Eastern Football Team|newspaper=The News Journal|date=November 29, 1938|page=24|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/106008037/cornell-and-pitt-dominate-ap/|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
==Professional career== Petro was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth round, with the 72nd overall pick, of the 1939 NFL draft.<ref name="pfr">{{cite web | url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PetrSt20.htm | title=Steve Petro | publisher=Pro Football Reference | accessdate=23 June 2025}}</ref> In 1940, his negotiation rights were traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers.<ref name="transactions"/> He signed with the Dodgers on August 8, 1940.<ref name="transactions">{{cite web | url=https://www.profootballarchives.com/transactions/p/petr01200.html | title=Petro Transactions | publisher=Pro Football Archives | accessdate=23 June 2025}}</ref> Petro played in all 11 games, starting six, for the Dodgers during the 1940 season.<ref name="pfr"/> He appeared in six games in 1941.<ref name="pfr"/> He then served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.<ref name="pfa"/>
==Post-playing career== Petro was an assistant football coach for the Pittsburgh Panthers from 1950 to 1972. He was also the Assistant to the Athletic Director from 1973 to 1984. His Pitt nickname was "the Rock," based on Petro, a derivation of the Greek word petros, which means rock. The Pitt Panther mascot's nickname is ROC, in Steve's honor.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://pittsburghpanthers.com/jrpanthers/rocsworld.html | title=The Story Behind the Pittsburgh Panthers' Name "ROC" | publisher=University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics | accessdate=2009-10-23 | url-status=bot: unknown | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726190711/http://pittsburghpanthers.com/jrpanthers/rocsworld.html | archivedate=2008-07-26 }}</ref>
Petro died on August 15, 1994, in Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania.<ref name="pfa"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.justsportsstats.com/footballstatsindex.php?player_id=petroste001 Stats Crew profile]
{{1937 Pittsburgh Panthers football navbox}} {{Pirates1939DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petro, Steve}} Category:1914 births Category:1994 deaths Category:Players of American football from Johnstown, Pennsylvania Category:American football guards Category:Pittsburgh Panthers football players Category:Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Category:Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players Category:Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Category:United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II Category:20th-century American sportsmen