Joe Marconi
American football player (1934–1992)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph George Marconi (February 6, 1934 – August 23, 1992) was an American professional football fullback who played professionally for the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Bears in the National Football League (NFL).
Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Downers Grove, Illinois, U.S.
Marconi from The 1955 Monticola | |||||||||||||||||
| No. 34 | |||||||||||||||||
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| Positions | Fullback Punter | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 6, 1934 Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | August 23, 1992 (aged 58) Downers Grove, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||
| High school | Fredericktown (PA) | ||||||||||||||||
| College | West Virginia | ||||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1956: 1st round, 6th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||
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Biography
Marconi was born in the Pittsburgh area city of Frederickton, Pennsylvania on February 6, 1934. He played football in high school and was offered an athletic scholarship at the University of Maryland, but he didn't like the school and found himself at West Virginia University.
He was first used on defense, but was found to be too productive on offense in the running game and was part of the backfield. As a running back, he piled up 998 career yards on 181 carries for an impressive 5.5 average and 18 touchdowns.
Marconi helped West Virginia to a 31–7 record during his four-year tenure. He was selected to play in the College Football All-Star Game and the Blue–Gray Football Classic after his senior season and he ended up being the Los Angeles Rams first pick in the 1956 draft. He accumulated impressive yardage as a Ram with 1,769 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was traded to the Bears before the 1962 season.
On January 1, 1964, Marconi was injured in a New Year's Day brawl at a bowling alley in Willowbrook, Illinois that resulted in the death of former Illinois linebacker Tony Parrilli,[1] who was accidentally shot by the Willowbrook police chief. The bowling alley was owned by Bears tight end Mike Ditka.[2][3]
He played five years with the Bears organization and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 1964. In 1966, he retired from football to become a sales representative in the steel business.
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the NFL championship | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1956 | RAM | 12 | 3 | 75 | 298 | 4.0 | 23 | 7 | 12 | 70 | 5.8 | 31 | 0 |
| 1957 | RAM | 10 | 3 | 104 | 481 | 4.6 | 31 | 3 | 16 | 171 | 10.7 | 61 | 1 |
| 1958 | RAM | 12 | 8 | 89 | 428 | 4.8 | 45 | 1 | 10 | 87 | 8.7 | 15 | 0 |
| 1959 | RAM | 12 | 3 | 52 | 176 | 3.4 | 21 | 4 | 10 | 81 | 8.1 | 30 | 1 |
| 1960 | RAM | 12 | 4 | 42 | 240 | 5.7 | 75 | 3 | 9 | 32 | 3.6 | 17 | 0 |
| 1961 | RAM | 13 | 0 | 36 | 146 | 4.1 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 5.0 | 8 | 1 |
| 1962 | CHI | 13 | 4 | 89 | 406 | 4.6 | 57 | 5 | 23 | 306 | 13.3 | 63 | 1 |
| 1963 | CHI | 14 | 6 | 118 | 446 | 3.8 | 19 | 2 | 28 | 335 | 12.0 | 63 | 2 |
| 1964 | CHI | 13 | 7 | 46 | 98 | 2.1 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 181 | 9.1 | 29 | 3 |
| 1965 | CHI | 14 | 4 | 19 | 47 | 2.5 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 43 | 10.8 | 29 | 0 |
| 1966 | CHI | 10 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 135 | 43 | 673 | 2,771 | 4.1 | 75 | 30 | 136 | 1,326 | 9.8 | 63 | 9 | ||
Playoffs
Death
Marconi died in Downers Grove, Illinois, his home.[4]