Chick Maggioli

Achille Fred "Chick" Maggioli (May 17, 1922 – December 20, 2012)[1] was an American football defensive back and halfback in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Colts. He also played in the All-America Football Conference for the Buffalo Bills.

Born in Mishawaka, Indiana, Maggioli was an all-state football player at Mishawaka High School, graduating in 1941. He then attended and played college football at Indiana University in 1942. He joined the Marine Corps Officer Training Program in 1943, which transferred him to the University of Notre Dame, where he played football in 1943 and 1944.[2][3] At Notre Dame, he was the reserve halfback on Coach Frank Leahy's National Champion 1943_Notre_Dame_Fighting_Irish_football_team and a starting halfback in '44. Called to active duty before the end of the '44 season[4], he served in the Marine Corps and was awarded the Purple Heart at the Battle of Okinawa.[5] Returning from World War II, Maggioli played halfback on the 1946 University of Illinois Big 10 Conference Championship team and Illinois' 1947 Rose Bowl winning team, graduating from the school that May.

Maggioli was drafted in the eleventh round by the Washington Redskins and ultimately played for the Buffalo Bills as a two-way player in 1948, his team winning the Eastern Division of the AAFL. He played defensive back for the Detroit Lions in 1949 and with the Baltimore Colts in 1950, intercepting eight passes in the final year of his pro football career.

He is a member of both the Indiana Football and Mishawaka High School Athletic halls-of-fame.