- Gene Brito
NFLretired
position=Defensive end
End
number=80
birthdate=November 23 ,1925 Huntington Park, California
deathdate=death date and age|1965|06|08|1925|11|23Duarte, California
debutyear=1951
finalyear=1960
draftyear=1951
draftround=17
draftpick=196
college=Loyola Marymount
teams=
*Washington Redskins (1951-1953)
*Calgary Stampeders (CFL) (1954)
* Washington Redskins (1955-1958)
* Los Angeles Rams (1959-1960)
stat1label=Fumble recoveries
stat1value=11
stat2label=Receptions
stat2value=47
stat3label=Touchdown s
stat3value=2
nfl=BRI618080
highlights=
* Touchdown Club POY (1955)
* 5xPro Bowl selection (1953,55-58)
* All-Pro 1955, 56, 57, 58
* 2nd Team All-Pro 1960
* 70 Greatest RedskinsGene Herman Brito (
November 23 ,1925 –June 8 ,1965 ) was anAmerican football Defensive end in theNational Football League who played nine seasons for theWashington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams from 1951 to 1960.College career
Brito graduated from
Loyola Marymount University (then Loyola University) as a multi-sport athlete, starring in football,baseball ,basketball , and track.Professional career
He began his career as an offensive end, catching 45 passes in his first two seasons before being moved to defensive end in 1953. Brito was named the NFL
Player of the Year by theWashington D.C. Touchdown Club after the 1955 season.He played in the
Canadian Football League for theCalgary Stampeders in 1954 where he was an All-conference selection in the CFL's Western Conference. In the NFL he was a five-timePro Bowl er in 1953 and from 1955 to 1958.He was selected as one of the 70 Greatest Redskins, a list compiled by the Redskins in 2002 to commemorate the 70-year anniversary of the team. He is one of four defensive ends on the team, along with
Dexter Manley ,Ron McDole andCharles Mann .A staff sergeant in the
U.S. Army and an Army paratrooper with U.S. forces in the Pacific duringWorld War II .Elected posthumously to the
National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 [http://www.niashf.org/] . He is honored with other notable football players likeAlan Ameche ,Mark Bavaro ,Doug Buffone ,Nick Buoniconti ,Tony Canadeo , Gino andJohn Cappelletti , Vinny Ferragamo,Franco Harris ,Vince Lombardi ,Gino Marchetti ,Leo Nomellini , Dante Pastorini,Joe Paterno ,Brian Piccolo ,Andy Robustelli ,Phil Villapiano , among others.Hosted "The Gene Brito Show" which aired prior to Redskins games in the 1950s making him one of the first NFL athletes to host a show and making him the most popular Redskins of his era [http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=24851] . Was then-Vice-President Richard Nixon's favorite player.
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