Early life

Brian Piccolo – the middle of three sons – was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on Halloween 1943. The family moved south to Fort Lauderdale, Florida when Brian was twelve, due his parents' concerns for his brother Don's health. Brian and his brothers were into athletics and was a star football player in high school, but considered baseball his primary sport. He graduated from the former Central Catholic High School (now St. Thomas Aquinas High School) in Fort Lauderdale in 1961.
Piccolo played college football at Wake Forest; his only other scholarship offer was from Wichita State. He led the nation in rushing and scoring during his senior season in 1964, yet went unselected in the 1965 NFL Draft. In 1963 Darryl Hill of the University of Maryland was the first and only African-American football player in the Atlantic Coast Conference. According to Lee Corso, who was an assistant coach at Maryland at that time, Wake Forest had the "worst atmosphere" of any place the Maryland football team played. Piccolo walked over to the Maryland bench, walked Hill over to the area in front of the student section, and put his arm around him, silencing the crowd. (Recounted on the ESPN College GameDay broadcast 11/15/08)
Following his senior season, Brian Piccolo married his high school sweetheart, Joy Murrath, on December 26, 1964. They had three daughters: Lori, Traci, & Kristi.

NFL career

Because he was not selected in the 1965 NFL Draft, Piccolo tried out for the Chicago Bears as a free agent. He made the team for the 1965 season, but only earned a spot on the taxi squad, better known today as the practice squad, meaning he could practice but not suit up for games. In 1966, Piccolo was on the main roster but played primarily on special teams. By 1967, his playing time increased as a back-up to starting tailback Gale Sayers, and in 1969, he was moved up to starting fullback, with Sayers as the tailback. He played in the NFL from 1966 to 1969 and scored five touchdowns.

-From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia-