 Marconi fromThe 1955 Monticola | |||||||||||||||||
| No. 34 | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Fullback Punter | ||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1934-02-06)February 6, 1934 Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | August 23, 1992(1992-08-23) (aged 58) Downers Grove, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||
| 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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Joseph George Marconi (February 6, 1934 – August 23, 1992) was an American professionalfootballfullback who played professionally for theLos Angeles Rams andChicago Bears in theNational Football League (NFL).
Marconi was born in thePittsburgh area city ofFrederickton,Pennsylvania on February 6, 1934. He played football in high school and was offered anathletic scholarship at theUniversity of Maryland, but he didn't like the school and found himself atWest Virginia University.
He was first used ondefense, but was found to be too productive onoffense in the running game and was part of the backfield. As arunning back, he piled up 998 career yards on 181 carries for an impressive 5.5 average and 18touchdowns.
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 theBlue–Gray Football Classic after his senior season and he ended up being the Los Angeles Rams first pick in the1956 draft. He accumulated impressive yardage as a Ram with 1,769 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was traded to the Bears before the1962 season.
On January 1, 1964, Marconi was injured in aNew Year's Day brawl at abowling alley inWillowbrook,Illinois that resulted in the death of formerIllinoislinebacker Tony Parrilli,[1] who was accidentally shot by the Willowbrookpolice chief. The bowling alley was owned by Bearstight endMike Ditka.[2][3]
He played five years with the Bears organization and was elected to thePro Bowl in 1964. In 1966, he retired from football to become a sales representative in the steel business.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won theNFL championship | |
| Bold | Career high |
| 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 | ||
| Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1963 | CHI | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 64 | 21.3 | 34 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1.7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 64 | 21.3 | 34 | 0 | ||
Marconi died inDowners Grove, Illinois, his home.[4]