So goes the story of this 100-year-old Kenmore, N.Y. resident, who has now rightfully retained the title of the oldest living man to have once played in the NFL. Dana played in five games for the New York Yankees during the 1928 season, catching one touchdown pass. Prior to the NFL of course, he played some of his college ball at Columbia. One of his teammates was the "Iron Horse" -- Lou Gehrig. (Click here to see a full team picture of Columbia's 1922 squad)

Dana hit the century mark on August 7, and perhaps the world would not have known of his experiences. But earlier this year, Mr. Dana read in the NFL encyclopedia that he had passed, and his son Bob looked into clearing that up.

The Sam Salemi that passed away on July 7, 1969 was not this Sam Salemi ... nor was it Sam Dana. Once this was made clear to the NFL Players Association, he was granted a lifetime membership to the Retired Players Association. This membership officially made Dana the oldest living player, taking the title away from 97-year-old George Gibson, who played in 14 games during the 1930 season. The Elias Sports Bureau, the statistics provider for the official NFL encyclopedia, Total Football, has also corrected their mistake.

The Ivy League began their search for Mr. Dana earlier in the summer, upon hearing word of his story on WEEI radio in Boston, Mass. We contacted the station to no avail, and at that time, the Players Association still maintained the aforementioned date of his passing. USA Today ran a search on his name for us with no luck and, given his name change, Columbia couldn't locate him. We ran several Lexis-Nexis searches (although we thought his new name to be 'Diana') and came up empty.

Upon reading his story in the August 4 issue of Sports Illustrated, we were pleased to find that Mr. Dana is alive and well. He attended Buffalo Bills' minicamp in May. The Bills, his hometown team, later invited him to their practice on Aug. 6 -- for an early birthday celebration. (Click here for the story on the Bills site)

We managed to track him down and caught up with him over the phone, and here is what he had to say:

(For all the past "Catching Up With..." features, please click here.)

Q: What is your fondest memory of Columbia?

A: My fondest memory is of playing football up there -- freshman team, and later on with the squad.

Q: What was New York City like when you were attending Columbia?

A: New York City has everything, there is always something you can do when you're in New York City. Ebbets Field, Polo Grounds, Coney Island, and you've got the Rialto with all the theaters and the shows. There was always something you could do.

Q: How popular was football when you were playing at Columbia?

A: Football was very popular, always had been.Especially in those days, pretty good teams ... and they had good attendance.

Q: Was Lou Gehrig aware at the time of what his future in baseball would hold?

A: He was very good at football. He was a great linebacker, and he was of course a star on the baseball team. He didn't play much with the baseball team though because the Yankees got him in 1923 or so.

Q: In Sports Illustrated, you said that you were warned not to tackle him -- what made him so feared?

A: He was a very strong runner. I was tackling him in a way that he opened up his shoulder ... he was 210 pounds of beef. He was fast too.

Q: You've lived through a century of professional sports. Do you believe that the devlopment of televisions, radios, and computers have been better for sports?

A: It makes the game available to everybody that has a TV. Not everybody can go to the stadium ...

Q: Who was better: Red Grange or Barry Sanders? Babe Ruth or Barry Bonds?

A: Red Grange, although I never did see him play, I know what he was able to do. He was very slippery ... you'd run over to tackle him, you'd think you had him, and all of a sudden he's out of your arms.

Babe Ruth, of course, I'd have to say is the greater man ... besides being a terrific home run hitter, he was a good fielder too.

Q: Why did you choose to change your name at such a late age?

A: I got married, I never cared for the name to carry on with my wife and any future family, I might add. So I changed my name while I was in the army and married her a week afterwards. So that's the way its been, no other reason.

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about your army career?

A: I never got overseas. I was in the guard squadron, and then I was switched to the classification section -- I classified incoming soldiers for what job they should do in the army.

Q: How were you first 'rediscovered'?

A: One time I noticed that a book of football listed me as dead. I didn't do anything about it, but my son checked it and went into clearing up that matter. I am still very much alive, living here in Buffalo.

Q: If you had a chance to speak your mind to those who assumed you passed away in 1969, what would you say?

A: That I am still alive.

Q: What was the average salary for a professional football player when you played?

A: The salaries weren't made public. But in those days they weren't getting the phenomenal sums that players get paid today. Some of the great players were only getting 150 dollars a game ... there may have been some others that got a few hundred more. I myself was supposed to be getting $125, but [the owner] held back $25 of that, he was supposed to pay it at the end of the season ... but he was broke.

Q: What is your greatest memory in all of sports?

A: That's hard to say, because I've watched so many baseball games and football games. I can't say ... I've seen the Brooklyn Dodgers play the New York Giants, you had everything in New York City, you know.

Q: You attended the Buffalo Bills' minicamp in May, do you have any other plans of attending NFL games?

A: Of course, whenever I can make it, I go along with a walker, you know -- after all, I am a hundred years old.

Q: Do you like passing on your knowledge to the younger players?

A: They know the game. I don't think there is too much difference between the game now and those days. The game is pretty much the same ... you've got different uniforms now, which is very good. I saw the shoulder pads they have now, they protect you a lot more than the kind we used to wear.

Q: Do you regret having been 'lost' all of these years?

A: No, I wasn't a great player like some of the boys in my time. I was surprised when [the owner] called me up, and told me to come and see him at the Chrysler building. But I went out for the team, and they put me at left-halfback right away.

Q: What do you want your legacy to be?

A: That I played to the best of my ability, I always gave everything. But ... I loved the game, I loved every bit of it -- regardless of what it was, whether it was the offense or defense.

Q: What would you say to a prospective student-athlete who is debating whether or not to go to an Ivy League school.

A: Any student that can go to an Ivy League school is going to get a good education. He should devote himself to getting that education rather than just devoting himself to football, of course he's got to keep up with his studies to play for the college.

Thanks for catching up with us Sam! Happy 100th Birthday!
Click here to see the full team picture of Columbia's 1922 squad