{{Short description|American football player (1942–2015)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox gridiron football biography | name = Tom Longo | image = Tom Longo.jpg | number = 45, 26, 21, 44, 46 | position = Defensive back | birth_date = {{birth date|1942|2|21}} | birth_place = Lyndhurst, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2015|7|2|1942|2|21}} | death_place = Wayne, New Jersey, U.S. | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 1 | weight_lb = 200 | high_school = Lyndhurst | college = Notre Dame (1962–1965) | draftyear = 1965 | draftround = 14 | draftpick = 188 | afldraftyear = 1965 | afldraftround = Red Shirt 11 | afldraftpick = 83 | pastteams = * Brooklyn Dodgers (1966) * Westchester Bulls (1967–1968) * New York Giants ({{NFL Year|1969|1970}}) * St. Louis Cardinals ({{NFL Year|1971}}) | highlights = * National champion (1964) | statlabel1 = Interceptions | statvalue1 = 4 | statlabel2 = Fumble recoveries | statvalue2 = 6 | statlabel3 = Sacks | statvalue3 = 1.0 | pfr = L/LongTo21 }}
'''Thomas Victor Longo''' (February 21, 1942 – July 2, 2015) was an American professional football defensive back who played three seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals. He was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fourteenth round of the 1965 NFL draft. He was also selected by the Oakland Raiders in the eleventh round of the 1965 AFL Redshirt Draft. Longo played college football at the University of Notre Dame.
==Early life and college== Thomas Victor Longo was born on February 21, 1942, in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. He attended Lyndhurst High School.<ref name="A">{{cite web | url=http://www.profootballarchives.com/long05800.html | title=TOM LONGO | publisher=profootballarchives.com | accessdate=November 12, 2014 | archive-date=November 13, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113044140/http://www.profootballarchives.com/long05800.html | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Longo first played quarterback, then running back and defensive back for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.<ref name="B">{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/sports/football/former-giant-longo-dies-73-1.1368033 |title=OBIT: Ex-Giant Tom Longo dies, 73 |publisher=northjersey.com |date=July 3, 2015 |accessdate=July 29, 2015 |author=Hague, Jim |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150729135922/http://www.northjersey.com/sports/football/former-giant-longo-dies-73-1.1368033 |archivedate=July 29, 2015 }}</ref>
==Professional career== Longo was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 188th pick in the 1965 NFL draft. He was also selected by the Oakland Raiders in the eleventh round of the 1965 AFL Redshirt Draft.<ref name="A"/>
Longo played in 27 games, starting fourteen, for the New York Giants from 1969 to 1970.<ref name="A"/><ref name="B"/> He played in two games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1971.<ref name="A"/>
==Personal life== Longo was active with the NFL Retired Players Foundation.<ref name="B"/> He died of mesothelioma on July 2, 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ndinsider.com/irishstew/former-notre-dame-defensive-back-tom-longo-passes-away/article_fb0c78c2-2295-11e5-8b1f-df6c475b1829.html |title=Former Notre Dame defensive back Tom Longo passes away |publisher=ndinsider.com |date=July 4, 2015 |accessdate=July 29, 2015 |author=Vorel, Mike |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240527110052/https://www.webcitation.org/6aNxW6U8p?url=http://www.ndinsider.com/irishstew/former-notre-dame-defensive-back-tom-longo-passes-away/article_fb0c78c2-2295-11e5-8b1f-df6c475b1829.html |archivedate=May 27, 2024 }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{1964 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football navbox}} {{Eagles1965DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longo, Tom}} Category:1942 births Category:2015 deaths Category:American football defensive backs Category:Lyndhurst High School alumni Category:Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Category:New York Giants players Category:Players of American football from Bergen County, New Jersey Category:St. Louis Cardinals (football) players Category:Sportspeople from Lyndhurst, New Jersey Category:Deaths from mesothelioma in the United States Category:Deaths from cancer in New Jersey Category:20th-century American sportsmen