After his college football days at USC[1] Salata played for the AAFC/NFL's San Francisco 49ers (1949–1950) and the AAFC's Baltimore Colts (1950).

He scored the 49ers final touchdown in the All-American Football Conference, as well as the team's first TD in the NFL.

[2] He also played three final seasons in Canada including in 1952 with the Calgary Stampeders, where he was an all-star, and in 1953 with the Ottawa Rough Riders.

[4] He played Tony Minelli in Angels in the Outfield (1951) and appeared, uncredited, in the 1953 film Stalag 17 as a prisoner.

This biographical article relating to an American football wide receiver born in the 1920s is a stub.