Joe Taffoni

Joseph Albert Taffoni Jr. (March 27, 1945 – July 26, 2021) was an American professional football offensive lineman who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants. He was selected by the Browns in the fourth round of the 1967 NFL/AFL draft. He played college football at West Virginia University and the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Early life and college Joseph Albert Taffoni Jr. was born on March 27, 1945, in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. He participated in football, baseball, and track at Carmichaels High School in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania.

Taffoni was a member of the West Virginia Mountaineers of West Virginia University (WVU) from 1963 to 1965, and a two-year letterman from 1964 to 1965. He was inducted into Tennessee–Martin's athletics hall of fame in 1989. He played in all 14 games for the Browns during his rookie year in 1967. He left Browns camp on July 27, 1971. Two days later, it was reported that he had requested a trade.

On July 31, 1971, Taffoni was traded to the Los Angeles Rams for a player to be named later and two undisclosed draft picks. Shortly thereafter on August 12, 1971, he was traded to the New York Giants for Rich Buzin. After only a few days with the Giants, he walked out of camp on August 17, 1971. It was reported that he was retiring and going into coaching. However, Taffoni decided to return to the Giants in 1972 and started all 14 games for them that year. Taffoni played in nine games, all starts, in 1973. On November 30, 1973, he had surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow. He retired after the season to become an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he spent five years. His son, Matt Taffoni, also played at WVU as a linebacker from 1991 to 1994.