- Jon Volpe
Infobox Pro Football player
Name=Jon Volpe
DateOfBirth=birth date and age|1968|13|0
Birthplace=Tucson, Arizona
Position= Running Back
College=Stanford University
Honors=CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award 1991
years=1991-1993
1994
teams=British Columbia Lions Las Vegas Posse
CFLAllStar=1991, 1992Jon Volpe was a star running back in the
Canadian Football League .Volpe took an unusual and inspiring path to football stardom. Coming from a family where his mother would become an alcoholic and live on the street, and his brother would go to jail several times, Jon Volpe, being only 5 feet 7 inches tall, succeeded in getting a football scholarship to prestigious
Stanford University , where he was an all-conference running back (leading in rushing yards,) earning GTE Academic All-American honors and being named a Rhodes Scholar nominee (while getting a BSc in engineering.)Not drafted by the
NFL , he had a tryout with thePittsburgh Steelers before he headed toCanada to play for theB.C. Lions . He exploded into the league in 1991, and rushing behindDoug Flutie (who would throw for a record 6619 yards) Volpe added 1395 rushing yards, and 16 touchdowns, which was good for an all star and theCFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award . In 1992 he added 941 yards and 13 TDs, and was again named an all star. A contract dispute meant a late start to the 1993 season, which ended up being disappointing. He left the Lions after 3 years and 36 games.Volpe moved to the expansion
Las Vegas Posse in 1994, but again was unsuccessful, rushing only 43 times for 182 yards and 3 TDs. He signed with thePittsburgh Steelers in 1995, but a preseason shoulder injury ended his career.Always driven, Volpe said that he'd be a millionaire by the time he was 30 years old. He succeeded only a few months after his birthday. As a successful mortgage broker, Volpe has risen to become chairman and CEO of
Nova Home Loans .He is married to Heather and has a daughter, Kaylie, and son, Trevor.
References
[http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=53316 Jon Volpe in the Tucson Weekly, Feb. 5, 2004]
"B.C. Lions Media Guide"
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