Thomas Henry "Bo" Hickey (October 7, 1945 – February 28, 2023) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a fullback for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Maryland Terrapins The Maryland Terrapins, commonly referred to as the Terps, consist of 19 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, College Park in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...

Early life and high school

Hickey was born and grew up in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

and attended Stamford Catholic High School, where he played football, baseball, basketball and ran track. He was named All-

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,921. ...

and All-State in football as a senior.

College career

Hickey spent two seasons at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, sitting out his freshman year as freshmen were ineligible to play varsity sports at the time. He became the

Terrapins Terrapins are one of several small species of turtle (order Testudines) living in fresh or brackish water. Terrapins do not form a taxonomic unit and may not be closely related. Many belong to the families Geoemydidae and Emydidae. The name " ...

' starting running back as a sophomore and was named second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference after leading the team with 894 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns while catching 11 passes for 94 yards. Hickey was academically ineligible to return to Maryland for his junior season.

Professional career

After failing out of Maryland, Hickey signed a contract with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. He played in several exhibition games in 1965 but did not make the team. Hickey was then signed by the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

of the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor 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 beco ...

, where he was coached by

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r and Stamford native

Andy Robustelli Andrew Richard Robustelli (December 6, 1925 – May 31, 2011) was an American football defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams and the New York Giants. He played college football at Arnold College and was d ...

, and finished sixth in the league with 551 rushing yards on 135 carries along with eight touchdowns. Hickey was selected in the 14th round of the 1967 NFL/AFL Draft by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. Hickey was cut by the Cardinals during training camp but was signed by the

on September 9, 1967. He played in 12 games for the Broncos, rushing 73 times for 263 yards and 4 touchdowns while also catching 7 passes for 36 yards and another touchdown before breaking his foot late in the season against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

. Hickey was released by the Broncos on July 23, 1968 after failing his physical. After his release Hickey returned to minor league football and played three seasons for the Westchester (and later Long Island) Bulls of the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional american football minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with NFL and AFL teams to serve as farm clubs. The league paid ...

Post-football

After retiring from football he became an assistant football coach at Staples High School before joining the coaching staff at

New Canaan High School New Canaan High School is the only public high school in New Canaan, Connecticut. In 2017, it was ranked the best public high school in Connecticut, and one of the top 200 in the nation. New Canaan High School was ranked the 74th best STEM high s ...

. He later also became the school's head ice hockey coach, holding the position for 20 years. Hickey worked as the superintendent of Lakeview Cemetery in

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bounde ...

for 34 years until his retirement in 2015. Hickey died in Connecticut on February 28, 2023, at the age of 77.Bo Hickey, former New Canaan hockey, football coach and NFL player, has died. 'Bo was a legend'
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hickey, Bo 1945 births 2023 deaths Maryland Terrapins football players Denver Broncos players American football fullbacks Players of American football from Connecticut Atlantic Coast Football League players Continental Football League players Sportspeople from Stamford, Connecticut