Nicholas Angelo Chickillo (October 17, 1930 – February 5, 2000) 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 ...

player who played one season with the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

of 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). He was selected by the Cardinals in the fifteenth round of the

1953 NFL draft The 1953 National Football League draft was held on January 22, 1953, at Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Selections made by the folded Dallas Texans were assigned to the Baltimore Colts, since the Dallas team had moved to Baltimore. ...

after playing

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 Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Early life and college

Nicholas Angelo Chickillo was born on October 17, 1930, in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

. He attended

West Scranton High School West Scranton High School, is a community-based school in the west side neighborhood of Scranton, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest schools in the area, having opened to the public in 1935, first as a junior high facility and later as a high ...

in Scranton. Chickillo was a member of the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

from 1949 to 1952 and a three-year starter from 1950 to 1952. He was inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame in 1987. His hall of fame bio notes that "Chickillo was one of the truly great 60-minute men in Hurricane football history. Chickillo was a stand-out player on both the offensive and defensive line while playing in the glory days of the early 1950's."

Professional career

Chickillo was selected by the

in the 15th round, with the 173rd overall pick, of the

. He played in all 12 games, starting nine, for the Cardinals during the 1953 season and recovered two fumbles. On September 9, 1954, Chickillo was traded to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

for a 20th round pick in the

1955 NFL draft The 1955 NFL draft was held January 27–28, 1955 at the Warwick Hotel in New York City. This was the ninth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery. With the previous eight winners ineligible from the draw, onl ...

, conditional on if Chickillo remained with the Steelers through the first six games of the regular season. He was released by the Steelers on September 21, 1954. Chickillo's trade to the Steelers and quick release were met with surprise by the media. It was later revealed that Chickillo had informed the Cardinals he would be joining the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

in 1955.

Personal life

Football players Tony Chickillo and Anthony Chickillo are his son and grandson, respectively. Nick served in the United States Army. He died on February 5, 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chickillo, Nick 1930 births 2000 deaths American football linebackers American football guards Miami Hurricanes football players Chicago Cardinals players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Scranton, Pennsylvania United States Army personnel