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| Position: | Wide receiver Kick returner | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | July 17, 1949 Vineland, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 175 lb (79 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Vineland (NJ) | ||||||||
| College: | West Liberty State | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 1972 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Louis James Piccone (born July 17, 1949) is a former American football wide receiver and kick returner who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. He played college football at West Liberty State College.[1]
Raised in Vineland, New Jersey, Piccone played prep football at Vineland High School; he was honored in 2022 with a street renaming and a key to the city of Vineland, recognizing him as the first athlete from the city to play in the NFL.[2]
Piccone played with the Youngstown Hardhats of the Midwest Football League in 1972.[3] He played with the Bridgeport Jets of the Atlantic Coast Football League in 1973.[4][5]
Piccone caught 100 passes for 1,380 yards and six touchdowns in nine years in the NFL.
Piccone led the NFL with 39 kickoff returns and 961 kickoff return yards as a rookie with the Jets in 1974.[6] He again led the NFL with 31 kickoff returns in 1976.[7] He also finished 5th in the league that season with 699 kickoff return yards.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Brady, Erik (September 28, 2022). "'Looooou!' gets his due as former Bills player Lou Piccone is honored by Jersey home". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- ^ McGurk, Tom. "Vineland's first NFL player to be honored by city on Sept. 29 with street name, key", The Daily Journal, August 30, 2022. Accessed May 29, 2024. "Lou Piccone, the first Vineland High School football player to compete in the National Football League, will be honored with a street dedication and key to the city on Sept. 29."
- ^ "Hardhats' Next Foe Is Flint". The Plain Dealer. August 7, 1972. Retrieved May 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Weisman, Larry (November 10, 1979). "Ex-Jet Piccone is alive and well in Buffalo". Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved May 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Danowski, Jeff (July 20, 1995). "Piccone did NFL's dirty work for 9 years". The Journal Times. Retrieved April 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Lou Piccone". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
- ^ a b "1976 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
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