Louis Granville Baldacci (born December 17, 1934) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player. He played college football for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1953 to 1955 and was the starting

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

and 1954 Michigan Wolverines football teams. He was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1956 NFL Draft and played ten games as a halfback in the

1956 NFL season The 1956 NFL season was the 37th regular season of the National Football League. With previous television partner DuMont Television Network ending operations prior to the 1956 season, CBS began carrying regular season games across its network n ...

Early years

Baldacci was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1934. He attended St. Vincent High School in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

University of Michigan

Baldacci enrolled at the

in 1952 and played for the Michigan Wolverines football team from 1953 to 1955.

1953 season

As a sophomore in 1953, Baldacci was the starting quarterback for all nine games played by Michigan. The 1953 team finished with a record of 6-3 and was ranked No. 19 in the final UPI poll and No. 20 in the final AP poll. Baldacci had his best game as a

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridir ...

er in a 14-13 victory over

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

on October 10, 1953. He completed 7 of 11 passes for 100 yards, including a 31-yard completion to Ed Hickey. Baldacci also kicked a 38-yard field goal against Illinois in 1953, breaking the prior record set by

Tom Harmon Thomas Dudley Harmon (September 28, 1919 – March 15, 1990), known as Tom Harmon, as well as by the nickname "Old 98", was an American football player, military pilot, actor, and sports broadcaster. Harmon grew up in Gary, Indiana, and playe ...

in 1940; Baldacci's record was broken in 1961 by Doug Bickle.

1954 season

As a junior in 1954, Baldacci split his time between the quarterback and fullback positions, playing in 309 of 540 minutes over the course of the nine-game season. He started five games at quarterback and one game at fullback for a Michigan team that again finished with a 6-3 record. The 1954 team was ranked No. 15 in both the final UPI and AP polls. In the 1954 season opener, Baldacci scored both of Michigan's touchdowns in a 14-0 win over

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. In November 1954, Baldacci led Michigan to a 33-7 win over the defending

1954 Rose Bowl The 1954 Rose Bowl was the 40th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Friday, January 1. The third-ranked Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference defeated the #5 UCLA Bruins of the ...

champions from

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. Baldacci scored Michigan's first touchdown on a four-yard run and later caught a 63-yard pass from Dan Cline to set up another touchdown.

1955 season

As a senior in 1955, Baldacci moved to the fullback position, starting seven of nine games for the Wolverines. The 1955 team improved to 7-2 and were ranked No. 12 in the final AP poll and No. 13 in the final UPI poll. In a 42-7 win over Missouri in September 1955, Baldacci had one of the best games of his career. He had two rushing touchdowns and also threw two passes, both of them completed for touchdowns. His best rushing total was 65 yards on 13 carries against

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

in November 1955. After the 1955 season, Baldacci was invited to play in two post-season all-star games. He played in the 1955 Blue-Gray All-Star Football Classic and the 1956

Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

. He scored the first touchdown for the Blue team in a 20-19 loss to the Gray team.

Career statistics

During his three years playing with the Wolverines, Baldacci completed 31 of 69 passes for 398 yards, 3 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He also gained 352 yards rushing on 134 carries and 10 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 16 passes for 269 yards and 2 receiving touchdowns.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Baldacci was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1956 NFL Draft and signed with the Steelers in July 1956. Baldacci played in ten games as a halfback for the Steelers during the

. He was part of an all-Michigan backfield for Pittsburgh, joining former Michigan teammate

Lowell Perry Lowell Wesley Perry (December 5, 1931 – January 7, 2001) was an American football player and coach, government official, businessman, and broadcaster. He was the first African-American assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL), the ...

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic univers ...

star

Ted Marchibroda Theodore Joseph Marchibroda (March 15, 1931 – January 16, 2016) was an American football quarterback and head coach in the National Football League (NFL). He spent his four years as an active player with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1953, 1955&nd ...

and Michigan State star

Lynn Chandnois Lynn Chandnois (February 24, 1925 – April 19, 2011) was an American football player who earned All-American honors for the Michigan State Spartans in 1949, won the NFL Player of the Year award for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1952, and played twic ...

. In November 1956, Baldacci's "hard-hitting" play was credited with powering the Steelers to a 14-7 upset victory over the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...

Later years and family

Baldacci was married in December 1956 to Linda Anne Landsnaes at St. Hugo's Church in

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a small city (5.04 sq. miles) in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is approximately northwest of Downtown Detroit. Except a small southern border with the city of Bir ...

. Baldacci entered the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

in 1957.The Michigan alumnus: Volume 65 (1959), p. 173 He played with an Air Force football team at

Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and was selected to the 1958 All-Air Force Football Team. Baldacci is a grandfather to 5 children and the great-grandfather to 4 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldacci, Lou 1934 births Living people American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks Michigan Wolverines football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Richmond, Virginia St. Vincent–St. Mary High School alumni