Giovanni "Gino" Berretta is a former award winning kicker in the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

.

A native of Pisa, Italy, Berretta went from Marymount High School in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce , also nicknamed NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal located in the city's west-end. It is one of five districts of the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce...

 to the ranks of local professional soccer, where he was scouted by the Montreal Alouettes

Montreal Alouettes

The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...

. At only 19 years old he suited up for his rookie season in 1961. In 8 games he managed a respectable 40.3 yards per punt average, yet he was cut by the Als, even though he would go on to win the Gruen Trophy

Gruen Trophy

The Gruen Trophy was a Canadian Football League trophy, given to the most outstanding Canadian rookie in the East Division. The award, sponsored by the Gruen Watch Co...

 as the best rookie in the east (at a time when only Canadians could win the award.)

He spent 1962 in the junior ranks with the top local team, the NDG Maple Leafs

Notre-Dame-de-Grace Maple Leafs

The Notre-Dame-de-Grace Maple Leafs also known as the NDG Maple Leafs were a junior Canadian football team based in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec from 1946 to 1973...

, and was back in an Als uniform for 1963. He had a good season as a punter, kicker and handling kickoffs. Even though he also caught 4 passes for 61 yards and a touchdown, Berretta represented a new type of player: the kicking specialist. In 1964 he made only one of nine field goal attempts, and became the punter for 1964 thru to 1966. His average dropped to 38.1 yards in 1966 and as a result he ended playing all of 1967 with the Montreal Beavers of the Continental Football League

Continental Football League

The Continental Football League was a professional minor American football league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to become the major force in professional football outside of the...

. 1968 saw him play 3 games as a back up punter for the Grey Cup

Grey Cup

The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...

 champion Ottawa Rough Riders

Ottawa Rough Riders

The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. One of the oldest and longest lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine times. Their most dominant era was the 1960s and 1970s, a...

. Finally, his career ended in 1969 with 7 final games with the Alouettes.

After his football days Berretta completed his education in orthosis and prosthesis and became owner of J.E. Hanger, a Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

company that is a leader in the sales of orthopedic, prosthetic and surgical appliances.