Brian Dale Baschnagel is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player. He played wide receiver

Wide receiver

A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...

 for the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

.

Early life

Brian Baschnagel's family relocated often due to his father's professional responsibilities and moved to the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

 when he was in his early teens. Baschnagel attended North Allegheny High School (Pittsburgh PA) and was a running back on the North Allegheny football team. Baschnagel was the first running back in WPIAL

Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League

The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League is an interscholastic athletic association in Western Pennsylvania. It is District 7 of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. The league is colloquially known as "WIP-ee-al"...

 history to rush for over 400 yards in a single game.

According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...

, Baschnagel rushed for 409 yards in a 1971 game against Sto Rox. According to an article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, also known as "the Trib," is the second largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

, Baschnagel then set a WPIAL rushing record that would stand for 17 years when he ran for 432 yards in a 1972 game.

College

Brian Baschnagel attended The Ohio State University after graduating from North Allegheny High School. Initially, Baschnagel was a running back but then was converted to a receiver (wing back). In addition to his position as a starting player on the Ohio State football team, Baschnagel was a two time Academic All-American (1974, 1975) and a recipient of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame scholarship award (1975).

NFL

Baschnagel was selected by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 1976 NFL draft. He was a receiver for the Bears for eight years and retired after the 1984 season.

Personal life

Brian Baschnagel is married, the father of three children, and currently works for North American Corp. in Glenview IL.