Victor I. Maitland (March 10, 1921 â November 29, 2019) was an American football tackle.
Maitland was born in Odessa, Russia and attended Arnold Prep High School. He played college football for Hobart from 1940 to 1942.
He was a fifth-round draft choice for the New York Giants in 1944. After serving in World War II, he returned and found that he had been traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He soon transitioned into a career in business and sports marketing.
After his playing career, Maitland became a marketing executive and later assumed a pivotal leadership role within the NFL Alumni Association. In 1977, he was appointed the organizationâÂÂs first full-time chief executive officer. At that time, the association was struggling financially and organizationally. Maitland restructured it as a formal charitable and educational nonprofit institution and relocated its headquarters to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Under his leadership, the NFL Alumni grew to more than 30 active chapters nationwide and launched several enduring programs, including the Charity Golf Classic Tour in 1979 as its primary fundraising initiative and the Player of the Year Awards Dinner in 1982, which honored outstanding players and coaches through votes cast by former players.
He helped establish signature traditions such as the NFL Alumni Gold Blazer presentation to Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees and the introduction of the NFL Alumni Ring in the early 1980s. Through these initiatives, Maitland played a central role in shaping the modern identity and philanthropic reach of the NFL Alumni Association.