Lu Gambino
Encyclopedia
Lucien Anthony "Lu" Gambino (September 21, 1923 – July 16, 2003) was an American football
running back. He played college football
for Indiana University
, and after military service in the Second World War, the University of Maryland
. While playing for Maryland
, he set the National Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) season scoring high for 1947 with 16 touchdown
s and 96 points and was named the 1948 Gator Bowl
most valuable player. Gambino played professional football for two years with the Baltimore Colts in the All-America Football Conference
(AAFC), an early competitor of the National Football League
(NFL).
on September 21, 1923. He attended J.S. Morton High School
in Cicero, Illinois
, where he was a football
and track & field standout. Gambino enrolled at Indiana University
in 1941, and he played football
for the Hoosiers
on the freshman team in 1941 and on the varsity team in . That season, head coach Bo McMillin
led Indiana to a 7–3 record, and the Hoosiers recorded six defensive shutout
s and outscored their opponents 256 points to 79. At Indiana, Gambino played alongside consensus All-America
back, and future Colts teammate, Billy Hillenbrand
. Shortly thereafter, Gambino dropped out of school to join the United States Army Air Forces
and serve during the Second World War.
by the Chicago Bears
in the 26th round as the 271st overall pick. In 1946, he was discharged from the Army and enrolled at the University of Maryland
. He considered Indiana to be a far superior football program and called Maryland a "cow school," but it was located relatively close to his mother, who was widow
ed and living alone in Baltimore
. During the 1946 season, Gambino saw limited playing time for a mediocre Terrapins
football team directed by head coach Clark Shaughnessy
. The following year, head coach Jim Tatum
was hired, and he engineered a reversal
of the team's fortunes. Tatum took the mentorship of Gambino as a personal project and aimed to develop him into the team's featured back.
As a senior in 1947
, Gambino set the NCAA season
scoring high with 16 touchdowns for 96 points. In the fifth meeting against rival , Gambino scored three touchdowns to help Maryland take away its first victory of the series, 27–0. He also scored three touchdowns against and , and two against where he also passed
for a third. During the season, Gambino rushed
for a total of 904 yards on 125 attempts, and as of 2009, he was Maryland's third-leading rusher in terms of single-season yards per carry
(7.23). He was also Maryland's season kickoff return leader, and returned seven kicks for 174 yards, an average of 24.85 yards.
Maryland finished the regular season 7–2–1 and secured the school's first-ever bowl game
appearance. In the 1948 Gator Bowl
against Georgia
, he was honored as the Most Valuable Player
. During the 20–20 tie, Gambino rushed to score all three of the Terrapins' touchdowns on one-, 24-, and 35-yard runs. He compiled 165 rushing yards, a school bowl
rushing record that stood for 60 years until finally broken by Da'Rel Scott
in the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl
. In 1992, for his achievement as the bowl game's "first superb running back," Gambino was inducted into the Gator Bowl
Hall of Fame.
At season's end, he was named a first-team All-Southern Conference
player, an All-America Catholic player, and an Associated Press
honorable mention All-American
. The Touchdown Club
awarded Gambino the Arch McDonald
Trophy as the best player in the Washington, D.C. area
. Prior to the start of the 1948 season, the Southern Conference
ruled that his college eligibility was exhausted and that he would be unable to play another year of college football. Gambino called the decision "crooked" and asserted that the standing rules did not count returning veterans' pre-war playing career against their eligibility. Geary Eppley
, a Maryland athletics official and member of the Southern Conference executive committee, filed a request for a special session to consider a rule change, but it failed to garner support from the two-thirds of the member schools required to call such a meeting.
(AAFC). Baltimore eventually acquired Gambino, and to do so, they traded their first-round 1948 draft selection to the Cleveland Browns
, who held Gambino's AAFC draft rights.
He played two seasons for the Colts from 1948 to 1949. During his first year, he saw action in nine games including one as a starter. On 54 carries, he rushed for a total of 194 yards and a touchdown. Gambino also recorded six receptions for 28 yards and made three kickoff returns for 57 yards. The following season, he played in ten games and started in six. He made 56 carries for 208 yards and ten receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown. At the time, Gambino was one of four Colts players who were bald. The Baltimore Sun
published an article that explored the unusual occurrence and concluded that it had "nothing to do with wearing a helmet." In When the Colts Belonged to Baltimore, author William Gildea described Gambino: "In street clothes he looked like Robert Mitchum
—wide-brimmed hat, long overcoat, baggy but creased trousers, a cigarette between his fingers, a craggy smile. Yesteryear's running back."
Baltimore released him during the summer of 1950. In the winter, Gambino had knee surgery to correct a bone spur. He was then picked up by the New York Giants
and placed on the reserve list in July 1951. His professional playing career, however, was ultimately cut short by his knee. Gambino married Vivian née Senese and lived in North Riverside, Illinois
. He died of heart disease on July 16, 2003 at Loyola University Medical Center
in Maywood, Illinois
. Gambino was 79 years old.
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...
running back. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, and after military service in the Second World War, the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
. While playing for Maryland
Maryland Terrapins football
The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
, he set the National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) season scoring high for 1947 with 16 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s and 96 points and was named the 1948 Gator Bowl
1948 Gator Bowl
The 1948 Gator Bowl was the third edition of the Gator Bowl and featured the Georgia Bulldogs representing the University of Georgia and the Maryland Terrapins representing the University of Maryland. It was the first-ever meeting of the two teams....
most valuable player. Gambino played professional football for two years with the Baltimore Colts in the All-America Football Conference
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
(AAFC), an early competitor of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL).
Early life
Gambino was born in Berwyn, IllinoisBerwyn, Illinois
Berwyn is a city in Cook County, Illinois, co-existent with Berwyn Township, which was formed in 1908 after breaking off from Cicero Township. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 54,016.-Demographics:...
on September 21, 1923. He attended J.S. Morton High School
J. Sterling Morton High School District 201
J. Sterling Morton High School District 201 is a school district headquartered in Cicero, Illinois, United States. The district serves the city of Berwyn, the town of Cicero, and the villages of Forest View, Lyons, McCook, and Stickney...
in Cicero, Illinois
Cicero, Illinois
Cicero is an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 83,891 at the 2010 census. Cicero is named for the town of Cicero, New York, which in turn was named for Marcus Tullius Cicero, the Roman statesman and orator....
, where he was a football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
and track & field standout. Gambino enrolled at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
in 1941, and he played football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the Hoosiers
Indiana Hoosiers football
The Indiana Hoosiers football program represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and in the Big Ten Conference.-Bowl games:...
on the freshman team in 1941 and on the varsity team in . That season, head coach Bo McMillin
Bo McMillin
Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin was an American football player and coach, who served at both the collegiate and professional levels. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where was a three-time All-American at quarterback, and led the Centre Praying Colonels to a...
led Indiana to a 7–3 record, and the Hoosiers recorded six defensive shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
s and outscored their opponents 256 points to 79. At Indiana, Gambino played alongside consensus All-America
1942 College Football All-America Team
The 1942 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers. The organizations choosing the teams included: the United Press, the Associated Press, Collier's Weekly, the New York Sun, and Sporting News...
back, and future Colts teammate, Billy Hillenbrand
Billy Hillenbrand
William Frank "Billy" Hillenbrand was an American football halfback who played professionally in the All-America Football Conference . He was born in Armstrong, Indiana. He attended Indiana University where he played for the Hoosiers...
. Shortly thereafter, Gambino dropped out of school to join the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
and serve during the Second World War.
College career
Gambino was selected in the 1945 NFL Draft1945 NFL Draft
The 1945 National Football League Draft was held on April 8, 1945. It was the last draft held in Chicago; later in the year the league moved its offices to Philadelphia.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:...
by 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...
in the 26th round as the 271st overall pick. In 1946, he was discharged from the Army and enrolled at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
. He considered Indiana to be a far superior football program and called Maryland a "cow school," but it was located relatively close to his mother, who was widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
ed and living alone in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. During the 1946 season, Gambino saw limited playing time for a mediocre Terrapins
Maryland Terrapins football
The Maryland Terrapins football team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Terrapins compete within the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
football team directed by head coach Clark Shaughnessy
Clark Shaughnessy
Clark Daniel Shaughnessy was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation", although that system had previously been used as early as the 1880s. Shaughnessy did, however, modernize the obsolescent T formation to make it once again relevant in the...
. The following year, head coach Jim Tatum
Jim Tatum
James M. "Big Jim" Tatum was an American football and baseball player and coach. Tatum served as the head football coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , the University of Oklahoma , and the University of Maryland, College Park , compiling a career college football record of...
was hired, and he engineered a reversal
Maryland Terrapins football under Jim Tatum (1947–1955)
From 1947 to 1955, Jim Tatum served as the head coach of the Maryland Terrapins football team, which represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association college football. Maryland hired Tatum to replace Clark Shaughnessy after the 1946 season...
of the team's fortunes. Tatum took the mentorship of Gambino as a personal project and aimed to develop him into the team's featured back.
As a senior in 1947
1947 Maryland Terrapins football team
The 1947 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association college football in its 27th season as a member of the Southern Conference....
, Gambino set the NCAA season
1947 college football season
The 1947 college football season finished with Notre Dame, Michigan and Penn State all unbeaten and untied, but the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame were the first place choice for 107 of the 142 voters in the AP writers poll, and repeated as national champions...
scoring high with 16 touchdowns for 96 points. In the fifth meeting against rival , Gambino scored three touchdowns to help Maryland take away its first victory of the series, 27–0. He also scored three touchdowns against and , and two against where he also passed
Forward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
for a third. During the season, Gambino rushed
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
for a total of 904 yards on 125 attempts, and as of 2009, he was Maryland's third-leading rusher in terms of single-season yards per carry
Carry (American football)
In American football, a carry is a statistical term equivalent to a single rushing play. The term is typically used in reference to "yards per carry," meaning yards per attempt rushing the ball. Any offensive player who performs a carry is known as a ballcarrier, regardless of position....
(7.23). He was also Maryland's season kickoff return leader, and returned seven kicks for 174 yards, an average of 24.85 yards.
Maryland finished the regular season 7–2–1 and secured the school's first-ever bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
appearance. In the 1948 Gator Bowl
1948 Gator Bowl
The 1948 Gator Bowl was the third edition of the Gator Bowl and featured the Georgia Bulldogs representing the University of Georgia and the Maryland Terrapins representing the University of Maryland. It was the first-ever meeting of the two teams....
against Georgia
Georgia Bulldogs football
The Georgia Bulldogs football team represents the University of Georgia in football. The Bulldogs are a member of the Southeastern Conference and are frequently a top-25 team. The University of Georgia has had a football team since 1892 and has an all-time record of 738–398–54...
, he was honored as the Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
. During the 20–20 tie, Gambino rushed to score all three of the Terrapins' touchdowns on one-, 24-, and 35-yard runs. He compiled 165 rushing yards, a school bowl
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
rushing record that stood for 60 years until finally broken by Da'Rel Scott
Da'Rel Scott
Da'Rel Scott is an American football running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was the starting running back for the Maryland Terrapins at the University of Maryland...
in the 2008 Humanitarian Bowl
2008 Humanitarian Bowl
The 2008 Humanitarian Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Nevada Wolf Pack on December 30, 2008. It was the two teams' first meeting. The game featured two conference tie-ins: the University of Maryland represented the Atlantic Coast Conference ...
. In 1992, for his achievement as the bowl game's "first superb running back," Gambino was inducted into the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
Hall of Fame.
At season's end, he was named a first-team All-Southern Conference
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
player, an All-America Catholic player, and an Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
honorable mention All-American
1947 College Football All-America Team
The 1947 College Football All-America team was composed of college football players selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers. The organizations choosing the teams included: the United Press, the Associated Press, Collier's Weekly, the International News Service , and the...
. The Touchdown Club
Washington D.C. Touchdown Club
The Washington D.C. Touchdown Club was started in 1935 with a passion for charity and sports. In the ensuing years the Club has benefited many local charities as well as providing scholarships to deserving student/athletes....
awarded Gambino the Arch McDonald
Arch McDonald
Arch Linn McDonald, Sr. was an American radio broadcaster who served as the voice of Major League Baseball's Washington Senators from to ....
Trophy as the best player in the Washington, D.C. area
Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is a combined statistical area consisting of the overlapping labor market region of the cities of Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle of West...
. Prior to the start of the 1948 season, the Southern Conference
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
ruled that his college eligibility was exhausted and that he would be unable to play another year of college football. Gambino called the decision "crooked" and asserted that the standing rules did not count returning veterans' pre-war playing career against their eligibility. Geary Eppley
Geary Eppley
Geary Francis "Swede" Eppley was an American university administrator, professor, agronomist, military officer, athlete, and track and field coach. He served as the University of Maryland athletic director from 1937 to 1947, during which time the school's athletic teams won seven national...
, a Maryland athletics official and member of the Southern Conference executive committee, filed a request for a special session to consider a rule change, but it failed to garner support from the two-thirds of the member schools required to call such a meeting.
Professional career
As the issue of his college eligibility was playing out, Gambino was being courted by several professional football teams. The Chicago Bears of the NFL, which had drafted him during the war, still had a strong interest in him, as did the Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football ConferenceAll-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the nation's best players, and introduced many lasting innovations...
(AAFC). Baltimore eventually acquired Gambino, and to do so, they traded their first-round 1948 draft selection to the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, who held Gambino's AAFC draft rights.
He played two seasons for the Colts from 1948 to 1949. During his first year, he saw action in nine games including one as a starter. On 54 carries, he rushed for a total of 194 yards and a touchdown. Gambino also recorded six receptions for 28 yards and made three kickoff returns for 57 yards. The following season, he played in ten games and started in six. He made 56 carries for 208 yards and ten receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown. At the time, Gambino was one of four Colts players who were bald. The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
published an article that explored the unusual occurrence and concluded that it had "nothing to do with wearing a helmet." In When the Colts Belonged to Baltimore, author William Gildea described Gambino: "In street clothes he looked like Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
—wide-brimmed hat, long overcoat, baggy but creased trousers, a cigarette between his fingers, a craggy smile. Yesteryear's running back."
Baltimore released him during the summer of 1950. In the winter, Gambino had knee surgery to correct a bone spur. He was then picked up by the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and placed on the reserve list in July 1951. His professional playing career, however, was ultimately cut short by his knee. Gambino married Vivian née Senese and lived in North Riverside, Illinois
North Riverside, Illinois
North Riverside is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,688 at the 2000 census.-Geography:North Riverside is located at ....
. He died of heart disease on July 16, 2003 at Loyola University Medical Center
Loyola University Medical Center
The Loyola University Medical Center is a quaternary care system with a main medical center campus in the western suburbs of Chicago. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, west of the Chicago Loop and east of Oak Brook, Illinois. The heart of the medical center campus,...
in Maywood, Illinois
Maywood, Illinois
Maywood is a village in Proviso Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It was founded on April 6, 1869 and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 26,987 at the 2000 census.-Overview:...
. Gambino was 79 years old.