David Anthony "Bull" Casinelli (May 23, 1940 – October 11, 1987), was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

fullback. 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 ...

for the Memphis State Tigers from 1960 to 1963. In 1963, Casinelli led Memphis State to an undefeated season and a #14 ranking in the final UPI Coaches' Poll. He also became the first Memphis State player to lead the NCAA in a major individual statistical category and the first Southern player to win the NCAA rushing title since John Dottley in 1949. Going into the final game of the 1963 season, he ranked third in rushing yardage but totaled 210 rushing yards in the final game to finish ahead of Jimmy Sidle and

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943 – September 23, 2020) was an American professional football halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). Sayers played for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1971, though injuries effec ...

. He led the NCAA for the 1963 season in rushing yardage (1,016 yards) and rushing carries (219). He also tied with

Cosmo Iacavazzi Cosmo Joseph Iacavazzi (some sources say Cosmo Iacovazzi, born August 18, 1943) is an American former professional football player for the New York Jets of the American Football League (AFL). A fullback, he played college football at Princeton ...

for the national scoring title with 84 points, each having scored 14 touchdowns. During his four years at Memphis State, Casinelli established school records with 2,796 total yards from scrimmage and 36 career touchdowns. In January 1964, he signed with the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

. Casinelli died as the result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident in 1987 in

Leon County, Florida Leon County () is a County (United States), county in the Florida Panhandle, Panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population w ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casinelli, Dave 1940 births 1987 deaths American football halfbacks Memphis Tigers football players Players of American football from West Virginia People from Follansbee, West Virginia Road incident deaths in Florida Sportspeople from Brooke County, West Virginia

See also

References