Nicholas Frank Adduci (July 12, 1929 – November 4, 2005) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

College career

Adduci earned a football scholarship to the

, where he played for the

Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference and ...

. He was captain and team MVP of the freshman team, and earned the starting fullback role on varsity as a sophomore. Adduci led the Nebraska team in rushing, averaging 4.9 yards on 60 carries. As a junior in 1950, he ranked second on the team in rushing behind

Bobby Reynolds Robert Thomas "Bobby" Reynolds (born July 17, 1982) is an American retired professional tennis player who resides in Auburn, Alabama. He was named head men's tennis coach at Auburn University in June 2016. Professional career Reynolds, a nati ...

, receiving several honorable mention All-American selections. Adduci's senior season was interrupted when he was drafted into the Army in October 1951. He did two years of military service, playing service football while working as an Army medic. He also won the

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boxing title at

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via first-round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

. Adduci returned during the 1953 season, rejoining the team as a reserve fullback.

Professional career

In July 1954, Adduci signed with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. He made the roster as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

, but was released in September. Adduci was signed by the

later that month. He was released in September 1956.

Post-playing career

Adduci served as head coach of the football program at Brother Rice High School in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

from 1958 to 1962, leading them to three playoff appearances. He worked as a part-time scout for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

for many years before he was hired as a full-time scout for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

in 1971. Adduci was inducted into the Roseland-Pullman Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adduci, Nick 1929 births 2005 deaths Players of American football from Chicago Nebraska Cornhuskers football players American football defensive backs Washington Redskins players Coaches of American football from Illinois High school football coaches in Illinois Philadelphia Eagles scouts