Andy Tomasic
Andrew John Tomasic, Sr. was a Major League Baseball and National Football League player. He was born in Hokendauqua, Pennsylvania, a village located within the boundaries of modern-day Whitehall, Pennsylvania, and nearby to Allentown, Pennsylvania. A 1942 graduate of Philadelphia’s Temple University, Tomasic was the captain of the 1941 football squad and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in 1971.Sports career
Tomasic was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 16th round of the 1942 NFL Draft. He was a halfback, defensive back, and return specialist. After making his NFL debut in 1942, Tomasic did not play from 1943 to 1945, as he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Tomasic returned in 1946 in what would be his final NFL season.
Just before retiring from the NFL, Tomasic had already begun his professional baseball career in the minor leagues, with the Kinston Eagles, of the Coastal Plain League. His many “farm circuit” successes earned him a big-league call-up, during the MLB season. The New York Giants used Tomasic as a relief pitcher; over the 2 games in which he appeared, his win-loss record was 0-1, with 5 innings pitched, 10 earned runs allowed, striking out 2, while walking 5 batters. Tomasic batted and threw right-handed.
Tomasic died on November 27, 2008, in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
