John Sciarra

John Michael Sciarra (born March 2, 1954) is a former professional American football safety in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1978 to 1983. He also played quarterback for the British Columbia Lions of the Canadian Football League. He played college football at UCLA.

Early years
Sciarra played high school football at Bishop Amat Memorial High School in La Puente, California, where he was named the CIF Southern Section Player of the Year in 1971.

College career
Sciarra was an All-American quarterback at UCLA. He starred in the 1976 Rose Bowl in which UCLA upset favored Ohio State University, which was unbeaten ranked number one in the nation, by a score of 23–10. Sciarra was named Most Valuable Player in the game.

BC Lions
After Sciarra was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL Draft and chose not to sign with them, he signed a two-year contract with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League on May 26, 1976. He earned the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award in 1976 as a quarterback.

Philadelphia Eagles
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Sciarra, and the Philadelphia Eagles traded a undisclosed draft pick to Tamp Bay in exchange for Sciarra in 1978. While with the Eagles, he played for legendary coach Dick Vermeil, who had been his college coach at UCLA. The Eagles were a successful team at that time and won the NFC Championship in 1980 and played in Super Bowl XV. He was re-signed to a two-year contract on June 15, 1981, and played with the Eagles until 1983.

Awards and honors
On August 8, 1991, Sciarra was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.

Sciarra was the keynote speaker at the 2009 UCLA's Sociology Department graduation ceremony, where graduates included Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, current quarterback Kevin Craft and former linebacker Marcus Reece, who came back to UCLA to finish his degree.

Personal
John Sciarra Jr., his son, also played football at UCLA, but at the end of the 2003 season, the younger Sciarra transferred to Wagner College.