Brian Piccolo

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Brian Piccolo (October 31, 1943 – June 16, 1970) was a professional football player for the Chicago Bears for four seasons. He died at the age of 26 from embryonal cell carcinoma, which was found as a very large tumor in his chest cavity. He was the subject of the 1971 TV movie Brian's Song. Number 41 Piccolo was portrayed in the original film by James Caan and by Sean Maher in the 2001 remake.

[edit] College and NFL career

Brian Piccolo was a star high school football player, graduating from the former Central Catholic High School (now Saint Thomas Aquinas High School) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As a memorium to his accomplishments and how he lived his life, the school's stadium is named for him. Additionally, at the end of every football game the school's band plays the theme from Brian's Song.

Piccolo was a 1965 graduate of Wake Forest. As recorded in the July 1970 edition of the Wake Forest Magazine, the running back was one of the greatest athletes in the history of the university up to that time. During his play there, Piccolo was ACC Player of the Year. In 1964, his senior year, he led the nation in rushing and scoring.

Because he was not selected in the 1965 NFL draft, Piccolo tried out for the Bears as a free agent. He made the team as a back-up to starting tailback Gale Sayers. Piccolo played in the NFL from 1966-1969 and scored five touchdowns. In 1969, he was moved up to starting fullback, with Sayers as the tailback. But after a coughing spell during a road game against the Atlanta Falcons and a failure to produce, he was sent to a doctor, where he was diagnosed with cancer in November 1969 as the Bears were in the midst of a 1-13 season, the worst record in the 85-year history of the franchise. Piccolo died of the disease on June 16, 1970.

Piccolo's death was the first of two sledgehammer blows cancer dealt to the NFL in a span of three months. On September 3, 1970, legendary coach Vince Lombardi, who led the Bears' archrival, the Green Bay Packers to five NFL championships and two Super Bowl victories before becoming coach of the Washington Redskins in 1969, died of colon cancer.

To honor his memory, students at Wake Forest began the Brian Piccolo Cancer Fund Drive in 1980, raising money for the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Bowman Gray Medical Center of Wake Forest University. In addition, the Brian Piccolo Student Volunteer Program was established to provide undergraduates with an opportunity to work at the Cancer Center as volunteers.

[edit] Brian's Song

Any discussion of Brian Piccolo invariably turns to the movie, Brian's Song, the story of his friendship with Gale Sayers. The movie is loosely based on Sayers' autobiography, I Am Third. Though an inspirational movie, several scenes never happened, including the final scene, where Sayers comes to the hospital as Piccolo is taking his last breath. According to Sayers' book, he was not even in the same state when Piccolo died.

Sayers had received the 1969 George S. Halas Courage Award at a banquet. His speech, the stirring climax of the movie, has him accepting the award on behalf of Piccolo. According to "I Am Third," Sayers taped Piccolo's name over his and the trophy was buried with Piccolo.

Brian Piccolo's biography, Short Season, was written by Jeanne Morris and first aired on ABC in 1971, the year after Piccolo died. Brian's Song was remade in 2001 starring Sean Maher in the title role. Brian Piccolo's second cousin, also named Brian Piccolo, is an up-and-coming football player in Tampa, Florida.^{[citation needed]}