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The late Richard Cassiano
Albany High School '36
Pro football player, Brooklyn Dodgers
Dick Cassiano’s climb to stardom started at Albany High School where, at
135 pounds, he played end then left halfback. An honor student and the
senior class president, he played in one losing game at Albany while
posting undefeated seasons in his junior and senior years. Cassiano
earned a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh and gained
All-American status after being hailed as the hero of the 1939 Rose
Bowl. After college he was a sixth-round draft pick for the Green Bay
Packers and went on to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. After a short
stint in the pros, his playing days ended with injury in World War II,
where he served in the Navy. He became a teacher after the war and went
on to work for the Gulf Oil Co. He was stricken with ALS in his mid-50s
and died in 1980 at the age of 62. He was inducted into the Capital
Region Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
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