Anthony Liscio (July 2, 1940 – June 18, 2017) was an
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 with ...
offensive tackle
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
for the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
. 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 ...
at the
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...
.
Early years
Liscio attended
Westinghouse High School, where he was an All-state end in
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 ...
, the starting
center in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
and a
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
ter for the
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
team. He was inducted into the
Westinghouse High School Wall of Fame.
He went on to become a two-way starting tackle for the
University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...
. As a senior, he was moved to
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
and was named
All-Missouri Valley Conference, honorable-mention
All-American and was invited to play in the
College All-Star Game
The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League (NFL) champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. It was also known as the C ...
against the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
champion.
In 2004, he was inducted into the University of Tulsa Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2015, he was inducted into the Second Pittsburgh City League Hall of Fame.
Professional career
Green Bay Packers
Liscio was selected by the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
in the third round (42nd overall) of the
1963 NFL Draft
The 1963 National Football League draft was held at the Sheraton in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday, December 3, 1962.
The first overall selection was quarterback Terry Baker of Oregon State, the Heisman Trophy winner, taken by the Los Angeles Ram ...
. He was also drafted by 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 ...
in the tenth round (75th overall) of the
1963 AFL Draft
The 1963 American Football League draft was held in Dallas on Saturday, December 1, 1962.
The Kansas City Chiefs drafted as the Dallas Texans, as their relocation would take place a few months later. With the first overall selection, they took B ...
.
He signed with the Packers, and during training camp he was used as a
defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
and
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
. He was eventually released the week of the season opener on September 10.
Dallas Cowboys (first stint)
Liscio was claimed off waivers by the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
, who switched him to offense, and named him the starter at
left tackle (five starts) at the end of his rookie season. He became a stalwart on the Cowboys offensive line for almost a decade and was only the second player in franchise history to hold this position after replacing
Bob Fry
Robert Moellering Fry (November 11, 1930 – November 10, 2019) was a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University ...
.
In
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
, Liscio started 10 games before being placed on the
injured reserve list
The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...
with a right knee injury. He lost all of the
1965 season after suffering complications (
staph infection) from an offseason knee surgery. In
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
, he recovered enough to resume his career, was named starting
left guard
In gridiron football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking. Right g ...
(10 starts), and eventually moved back to
left tackle (four starts) at the end of the season. The next year, he played in the
1967 NFL Championship Game
The 1967 NFL Championship Game was the 35th NFL championship, played on December 31 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
It determined the NFL's champion, which met the AFL's champion in Super Bowl II, then formally referred to as the se ...
, famously known as the
"Ice Bowl". In
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
, he played in only 11 games (seven starts) because of back problems.
During his first eight seasons, Liscio helped Dallas reach two
NFC Championships and one
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
, while playing in 89 games, many of them with injuries.
On May 19,
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
, he was sent to the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
as part of the “Bambi” trade that brought
Hall of Famer
A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...
Lance Alworth to the Cowboys.
San Diego Chargers
Liscio never played a game for the Chargers because of injuries to his back and hamstrings.
On September 8, 1971, he was traded to the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
along with a fourth round draft choice (#91-
Larry Ball
Larry Lavern Ball (born September 27, 1949) is a retired American football linebacker.
Ball was drafted out of University of Louisville in the 1972 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Detroit Lion ...
) in exchange for
center Carl Mauck
Carl Mauck (born July 7, 1947) is a former American football player and coach who was a center who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for four teams and later served as an offensive line coach for several teams. Mauck attende ...
.
Miami Dolphins
Liscio never played a game for the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
either, because he announced his retirement after the trade became official, rather than reporting to the team.
[
]
Dallas Cowboys (second stint)
In mid-November 1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6).
The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history.
Events
Ja ...
, Tom Landry
Thomas Wade Landry (September 11, 1924 – February 12, 2000) was an American professional football player and coach. He was the first head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in the National Football League (NFL), a position he held for 29 seasons. Dur ...
called Liscio on Monday November 15 to ask if he could return to the Cowboys to replace injured teammates. Liscio reported to the team on Wednesday to start at left tackle against the Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
on Sunday.
During the game, Liscio played with injuries to his shoulders and knees. Liscio and the Cowboys won the game 13-0 and became the leader in the NFC East
The National Football Conference – Eastern Division or NFC East is one of the four Division (sport), divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). It currently has four members: the Dallas Cowboys ...
. At Super Bowl VI
Super Bowl VI was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
, the Cowboys defeated Miami 24-3. In that game, Liscio successfully blocked Bill Stanfill
William Thomas Stanfill (January 13, 1947 – November 10, 2016) was a defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of the American Football League and then the NFL after the AFL-NFL merger of 1970. He was a member of Miami's two Super Bowl-winning team ...
, helping Duane Thomas
Duane Julius Thomas (born June 21, 1947) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at West Texas State University.
Early years ...
and other running backs register 252 rushing yards. Liscio retired after being the runner-up for the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award
The National Football League Comeback Player of the Year Award refers to a number of awards that are given to a National Football League (NFL) player who has shown perseverance in overcoming adversity, in the form of not being in the NFL the previo ...
.[
]
Personal life
After football, he worked in commercial real estate. In 2012, he suffered a heart attack while being present at the Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
training camp.
Liscio died on June 18, 2017, at age 76 at his Lake Highlands
Lake Highlands is a neighborhood constituting most of Northeast Dallas. The neighborhood is a collection of dozens of subdivisions served by Richardson ISD and Dallas ISD public schools, as well as an array of private schools.
Geography
Overview ...
home. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...
after falling and breaking his hip in mid-2016 and began slurring his words. He had lost his ability to speak and required a feeding tube, according to his wife, Annette, to whom he was married since 1963. She believed playing football had contributed to his condition and, upon his death, donated his brain to be tested for chronic traumatic encephalopathy. He was survived by her and their three children.Tony Liscio, ex-Cowboy who protected Roger Staubach's blind side, dies at 76 after battling ALS
/ref>
References
External links
Luring Tony Liscio out of retirement paid off for Liscio and Cowboys
Tulsa Hurricanes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liscio, Tony
1940 births
2017 deaths
American football offensive tackles
Players of American football from Pittsburgh
Tulsa Golden Hurricane football players
Dallas Cowboys players
Neurological disease deaths in Texas
Deaths from motor neuron disease