Gino Marchetti

Lore & Background

Marchetti was born near Smithers, West Virginia, in Kayford, West Virginia. He was the son of Italian immigrants Ernesto (later Ernest) and Maria (Dalforte) from Lucca, Italy in Tuscany. The family moved to Antioch, California when Marchetti was young. During World War II, his mother was assigned to an internment camp and later cast out of Antioch as a supposed threat to national security. Marchetti enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1944 at age 17, served as a machine gunner in Europe, and called his Army experience 'life altering.' He played semipro football for the Antioch Hornets in 1947, attended Modesto Junior College, then played at the University of San Francisco (USF). The 1951 USF Dons were undefeated and invited to the Orange Bowl, but the team unanimously rejected the offer when told that African American players Ollie Matson and Burl Toler could not play due to segregation. Marchetti was selected in the second round of the 1952 NFL draft (14th overall) by the New York Yanks. He played 13 seasons with the Colts and helped them win NFL Championships in 1958 and 1959. He made a key tackle in the 1958 NFL Championship Game but fractured his ankle on the play. He was an 11-time Pro Bowler, First-team All-Pro nine times, and a Second-team selection once. He was voted most valuable player of the 1963 Pro Bowl.

In Their Own Story

In 2019, a panel comprising media members, former players, and league personnel convened between April and June 2018 to vote on the greatest players of the first 100 years. Marchetti was named during this process as part of the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team. He joins a distinguished group that includes Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, and Gale Sayers, all of whom were also honored in the 50th and 75th anniversary teams. The selection process involved trimming a list to 160 players in mid-May 2018 before final votes were due on June 15, 2018. Marchetti's inclusion signifies his status as a cornerstone of the league's defensive history, recognized by experts like Bill Belichick and John Madden who reviewed early-era film for the committee.

Reader's Guide

Marchetti is remembered as a dominant defensive end. He was voted 'the greatest defensive end in pro football history' by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972. He once volunteered to substitute at tight end and caught a touchdown pass. Colts coach Keith Molesworth moved him to left offensive tackle in 1954, a position he hated, but it taught him how to beat a blocker. The following year, new coach Weeb Ewbank returned him to defensive end, and Marchetti made his first Pro Bowl. Quarterback sacks were not kept as an official statistic during his playing years, but informal records after 1960 indicate he had 56 sacks from ages 34 to 39. Baltimore Colts unofficial team records had him with 43 sacks in one single 12-game season. Marchetti himself recalled nine sacks in a single game.

Did You Know?

• Marchetti was one of only six players named to the NFL's 50th, 75th, and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams.
• He fractured his ankle making a tackle in the 1958 NFL Championship Game but insisted on watching the rest of the overtime contest from the sideline with his teammates.
• Marchetti's mother was cast out of Antioch, California during World War II as a supposed threat to national security, even though she had a son in the army and Marchetti was about to enlist.
• The 1951 USF Dons unanimously rejected an Orange Bowl invitation because their two African American players, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, would have been barred from playing.