2003 Hall of Fame Inductee

ANTHONY E. "TONY" STALLONI

(1923-83)
Football (1940-42, 1946)
Graduate Assistant Football Coach (1947-48)
Inducted 2003

A rock-solid 5-7 lineman under Hall of Fame coach Bill Murray, Tony Stalloni led the University of Delaware football squad to national recognition on the gridiron and played a big part in starting the great tradition of Blue Hen football. A four-year standout at tackle and one of three brothers (Tony, Mariano, and Carl) who played football for the Blue Hens, he was a member of teams that went unbeaten for 31 straight games over three seasons, culminating in a perfect 10-0 record and Delaware's first Associated Press Small College national title in 1946. He served as team captain for the 1946 squad when he earned first team Associated Press All-American honors, was the Mason-Dixon Conference Most Valuable Player, and was selected as the University of Delaware Outstanding Senior Male Athlete of the Year. After the 1940 squad went 5-3 under Murray in 1940, Stalloni led a resurgence that saw the Blue Hens go 7-0-1 in 1941, 8-0 in 1942, and after a three-year break due to World War II, go 10-0 in 1946, including a 21-7 win over Rollins in the Cigar Bowl in Tampa, Fla. The streaks of 26 straight wins and 31 straight games unbeaten still stand as school records. A native of Chester, Pa., he signed a professional contract with the Baltimore Colts and later served as a University of Delaware graduate assistant coach in 1947-48. He was also named to the University of Delaware Football All-Time team in 1989 as a defensive tackle as part of the UD Football Centennial Celebration. He passed away in 1983.