The Legend

Louis "Brian" Piccolo (born October 31, 1943) was the youngest of three sons and was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to Joseph and Irene Piccolo. But, spent most of his years growing up in the Fort Lauderdale, FL area. Piccolo and his brothers were athletes and Brian Piccolo was a star running back on his high school football team, but considered baseball his primary sport.

At Wake Forest University, Piccolo played college football; his only other scholarship offer was from Witchita State. During his senior year, he led the nation in rushing and scoring and was named the ACC Player of the Year. Despite his fabulous final year in college, "Pic" was not drafted, despite it lasting 20 rounds with 14 teams. Two hundred and eighty picks, and the leading rusher in the nation seemed not to be wanted by the NFL. Bears owner and coach George Halas stepped in and signed Piccolo as a free agent. Halas actually called a press conference to announce the signing, which was unprecedented for a free agent that did not get drafted. Deemed too small and too slow for the NFL, Brian spent 1965 on the Bears practice squad.

Each training camp it seemed he was on the bubble to make the roster, but his determination would not let him fail. His first big chance came in 1968. In game nine of that season, versus San Francisco at Wrigley Field, the Gale Sayers-"Kansas Comet" suffered a massive knee injury. Sayers was lost for the season, and "Pic" stepped right in. In the final five games of that year, Piccolo gained 450 yards on the ground and 281 via pass receptions. He also scored his first two NFL touchdowns.

What Piccolo (along with Sayers) is most known for is being apart of the NFL's first interracial roommates prior to the 1967 season. They both jumped at the opportunity and became close friends. Fiercely competitive, Piccolo was eager to prove the NFL was wrong for not drafting him back in '65.

During the '68 offseason, Sayers became the first NFL player to successfully return to football after such a massive knee injury. Piccolo assisted Sayers both mentally and physically through his rehab.

By the time Piccolo had his real chance to shine, it was too late. He entered 1969's training camp healthy and eager to contribute to the team (a full physical and chest x-ray was performed that July and was normal). With Sayers having returned to the lineup, Piccolo was back to his familiar second-string halfback position, but coaches had him practicing at fullback with the intention of playing him there at some point. The previous starting fullback had been injured in game six at Los Angeles, so "Pic" started game seven at Minnesota. Problem was, Piccolo wasn't feeling too well.

Piccolo had been battling a cough that wouldn't go away, and now became winded easily. At Atlanta, Piccolo took himself out of the game because he couldn't breathe, which was a first. The following Tuesday, Brian visited the hospital. Because of the cough, Piccolo figured they would want to see a chest x-ray, so