Joseph S. Signaigo’s distinguished career, on and off the football field, began at Catholic High School in Memphis. Not only was he a member of the “All Radio Eleven” football team his sophomore year and All-Memphis his junior and senior years, but Signaigo was also Memphis Prep League Heavyweight Boxing Champion and All-Memphis in baseball. Signaigo entered Notre Dame on a football scholarship in 1942 and was starting right guard on the 1943 national championship team. That year he was named to several All-American teams and acclaimed one of the top linemen in the country. After three years in the Marine Corps, Signaigo returned to Notre Dame and played on two more national championship teams in 1946 and 1947. After graduating in 1948, he went on to an impressive three-year professional football career with the New York Yankees of the All-American Conference. He was All-Pro each year with the Yankees, including 1950 when the league had merged with the NFL. Signaigo also had a successful business career as president of a wholesale beer distributorship back in Memphis. Throughout his life, he has held various positions of honor within the athletics world, including president of the Liberty Bowl Festival Association and the Memphis Chapter of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame. His contributions to football, both nationally and within the state of Tennessee, make Joseph Signaigo a prominent member of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame.
