Gino Marchetti

He was born in Smithers, West Virginia, the son of Italian immigrants Ernesto and Maria. He is survived by his spouse, Joan, his daughters Gina Burgess (Mike), Michelle Kapp (Buddy), Donna Lloyd (David), and sons John (Janet) and Eric (Lizann), 16 grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduating high school in Antioch, California, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge as a machine gunner during World War II.

Upon returning home to California after the war, he attended Modesto Junior College for a year before joining the football program at the University of San Francisco, where his team enjoyed an undefeated season in 1951. He was selected in the second round of the 1952 NFL draft (14th overall) by the New York Yanks.

Marchetti played 14 professional seasons, first with the Dallas Texans in 1952 before joining the Baltimore Colts, where he spent 13 highly productive seasons (1954-1964, 1966) as one of the league's elite pass rushers long before sacks became an official statistic in 1982.

The 6-foot-4, 244-pound Marchetti's achievements during his playing days are a testament to his impact, as he earned All-NFL honors nine times, was selected for 11 Pro Bowls and was named the top defensive end of the NFL's first 50 years.

He appeared in 161 games on his career with 151 starts and was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1972.

In 1959, Marchetti joined with several of his teammates, including Alan Ameche, and opened a fast food restaurant. The business grew, began to franchise, and would eventually become known as Gino's Hamburgers. It was a successful Mid-Atlantic regional fast food chain and had 313 company-owned locations when they were sold in 1982 to Marriott International, which abandoned the name in favor of their Roy Rogers restaurants.

In 2009, Marchetti teamed with other former key Gino's employees to resurrect the Gino's name. Hiring commenced in September 2010 to staff their first new restaurant in the company's old hometown of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, and Gino's Burgers & Chicken, as the company is now known, opened its first store on October 25, 2010. This restaurant has since closed. The chain currently operates restaurants in Glen Burnie, Maryland and Towson, Maryland.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, May 4th, at Sts. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church, 1325 Boot Rd, West Chester, PA in West Chester, PA. Viewing Saturday morning 9:30 to 10:45 in the Church. Int. Private.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Gino Marchetti to the Nokota Horse Conservancy at https://www.nokotahorse.org/ in memory of his love of animals and horses. Also, The Gary Sinise Foundation which provides support to our nation’s defenders and veterans at https://www.garysinisefoundation.org/.