Johnny Musso (born March 6, 1950) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player, a running back for three seasons with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and in the National Football League with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

Early years

Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Musso graduated from L. Frazier Banks High School in 1968, and played college football at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa under head coach

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

. He was an All-American in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

and led the Crimson Tide to an undefeated regular season and a berth in the Orange Bowl against top-ranked Nebraska. He was nicknamed The Italian Stallion. Musso was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1989, and the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 2000.

Professional career

Musso was a third round selection in the

1972 NFL draft The 1972 NFL draft was held February 1–2, 1972, at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski. Player selections Round one Round two ...

, 62nd overall, by the

. He opted for a higher offer in Canada, and played for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League for three seasons (1972–1974), where he ran for 1029 yards in and was a West All-Star. In March 1974, he was selected by the Birmingham Americans in the first round (7th overall) of the WFL Pro Draft. After injuries and being moved to backup to all-star Lou Harris, Musso left the Lions in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

for Birmingham where he rushed for 681 yards. After the WFL folded, he signed with the Bears in late November

, and was the backup to Walter Payton. Musso had surgery on his right knee in August

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and spent the season on injured reserve; he failed his physical in July

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and retired.

References

External links

*
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
– Johnny Musso *

– Johnny Musso 1950 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide football players All-American college football players American football running backs BC Lions players Birmingham Vulcans players Canadian football running backs Chicago Bears players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama {{runningback-1950s-stub

Early years

Professional career

See also

References

External links