View source for Joe Bellino

{{Short description|American football player (1938–2019)}}
{{for|the member of the Michigan House of Representatives|Joe Bellino (politician)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2017}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name          = Joe Bellino
| image         = Joe Bellino.jpg
| alt           =
| caption       = Bellino in 2007
| number        = 27
| position      = [[Halfback (American football)|Halfback]]
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1938|3|13}}
| birth_place   = [[Winchester, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2019|3|27|1938|3|13}}
| death_place   = [[Lincoln, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| height_ft     = 5
| height_in     = 9
| weight_lb     = 185
| high_school   = [[Winchester High School (Massachusetts)|Winchester]]
| college       = [[Navy Midshipmen football|Navy]] (1958–1960)
| draftyear     = 1961
| draftround    = 17
| draftpick     = 227
| afldraftyear  = 1961
| afldraftround = 19
| afldraftpick  = 146
| pastteams     = * [[History of the New England Patriots#1960–1969: AFL beginnings|Boston Patriots]] ([[1965 American Football League season|1965]]–[[1967 American Football League season|1967]])
| highlights    = * [[Heisman Trophy]] (1960)
* [[Maxwell Award]] (1960)
* [[UPI College Football Player of the Year|UPI Player of the Year]] (1960)
* [[Sporting News College Football Player of the Year|''SN'' Player of the Year]] (1960)
* [[Chic Harley Award]] (1960)
* [[List of unanimous All-Americans in college football|Unanimous All-American]] ([[1960 College Football All-America Team|1960]])
* First-team All-Eastern ([[1960 All-Eastern football team|1960]])
* [[Navy Midshipmen football#Retired numbers|Navy Midshipmen No. 27]] retired
| statleague    = AFL
| statlabel1    = Rushing yards
| statvalue1    = 64
| statlabel2    = Rushing average
| statvalue2    = 2.1
| statlabel3    = [[Reception (gridiron football)|Receptions]]
| statvalue3    = 11
| statlabel4    = Receiving yards
| statvalue4    = 151
| statlabel5    = Receiving [[touchdown]]s
| statvalue5    = 1
| pfr           = B/BellJo00
| CollegeHOF    = 1755 
}}

'''Joseph Michael Bellino''' (March 13, 1938 – March 27, 2019) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[Halfback (American football)|halfback]] in the [[American Football League]] (AFL) for the [[History of the New England Patriots#1960–1969: AFL beginnings|Boston Patriots]]. He played [[college football]] for the [[Navy Midshipmen football|Navy Midshipmen]], where he won the [[Heisman Trophy]] in 1960.<ref name="heisman1">{{cite web |url=http://www.heisman.com/winners/j-bellino60.php |title=Winners |access-date=October 25, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108161004/http://www.heisman.com/winners/j-bellino60.php |archive-date=November 8, 2011 }}</ref>  He was inducted into the [[College Football Hall of Fame]] in 1977.

==Early life==
Bellino was born in [[Winchester, Massachusetts]], attended the town's public schools, and was a three-sport star at Winchester High School. In [[baseball]] he batted well over .400 and was courted by major league teams. He was offered a contract by the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] after high school.<ref name="boston1">{{cite web |url=https://www.boston.com/news/daily/18/bellino.htm |title=Archived copy |access-date=December 14, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214181251/http://www.boston.com/news/daily/18/bellino.htm |archive-date=December 14, 2013 }}</ref>

The [[basketball]] team on which he starred won the state championship his sophomore and junior years.  They moved up to the Class A (largest schools) tournament his senior year, where the team's 55-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of much larger [[B.M.C. Durfee High School]] of [[Fall River, Massachusetts|Fall River]].

He was a dominant [[halfback (American football)|halfback]] on Winchester's outstanding football team, although his senior season was shortened by the 1955 [[polio]] epidemic. He was recruited by several [[Big Ten]] schools, [[University of Notre Dame|Notre Dame]], [[Ivy League]] schools as well as the [[U.S. Military Academy]], but his first choice all along was Navy.<ref name="boston1"/>

==College career==
During his 1956–57 year at Columbian Prep in [[Washington, D.C.]], Bellino starred in both football and basketball. On November 25, Bellino scored three touchdowns in Columbian's upset win over the [[Plebe summer|Navy Plebes]], 34–33.

In the fall of 1957, Bellino entered the [[United States Naval Academy]] in [[Annapolis, Maryland]], along with his former high-school teammate, Frank Dattilo. During his freshman year, the Plebes matched up against the [[Pennsylvania State University|Penn State]] freshmen. Penn State won the game 23–13, but Bellino took a lateral from his Columbian teammate Harry Dietz and scored on an 85-yard kickoff return.

He was an outstanding baseball player at Navy, but his legendary exploits occurred on the football field. In his senior year, he rushed for 834 yards, caught 15 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns, threw two touchdown passes, averaged 47.1 yards as a punter, and returned kicks and punts. He won the 1960 [[Heisman Trophy]] by a wide margin, garnering the most votes in each of the five national voting regions. In Bellino's final [[college football]] game, Navy's loss to the [[University of Missouri]] in the 1961 [[Orange Bowl (game)|Orange Bowl]], he scored his team's final touchdown with a spectacular diving catch in the end zone.

Following graduation, Ensign Bellino began his four years of active Navy service, until he was discharged to reserve duty.

==Professional career==
Bellino was selected in 17th round of the [[1961 NFL draft]] by the [[Washington Redskins]], as well as in the 19th round of the [[1961 American Football League Draft|1961 AFL draft]] by the [[Boston Patriots]]. He decided to join the Patriots of the [[American Football League]], and played three seasons, primarily as a [[Kickoff returner|kick returner]]. Due to his five-year commitment to the U.S. Navy following graduation, he remains the lowest drafted [[Heisman Trophy]] winner in the history of the [[National Football League]] (NFL).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BellJo00.htm |title=Joe Bellino Stats |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |date=January 1, 1970 |access-date=April 25, 2017}}</ref>

Bellino also played for the Providence Steamrollers semi-pro team in [[Providence, Rhode Island]].

Bellino is the only past Heisman Trophy winning running back to have played for the Patriots. He caught a 15-yard pass from past Heisman Trophy winner [[John Huarte]] in the Patriots 38–14 rout of the [[Houston Oilers]] on December 11, 1966. Bellino caught a deflected pass on his back that allowed the Patriots to continue a drive that resulted in a touchdown in their 14–3 win over the [[Buffalo Bills]] in "The Game" at [[Fenway Park]] on December 4, 1966.

He had the Patriots longest kickoff return in 1966 and caught a 25-yard TD pass in the Patriots 20–10 win over the Buffalo Bills at [[War Memorial Stadium (Buffalo)|War Memorial Stadium]] on October 8, 1966.

Bellino was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1968 AFL expansion draft.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.profootballarchives.com/1968AFLExpansionDraft.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=March 31, 2019 |archive-date=March 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331082015/https://www.profootballarchives.com/1968AFLExpansionDraft.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==After football==
Bellino served a total of 28 years in the [[United States Navy]] and the [[United States Naval Reserve|Naval Reserve]], and retired with the rank of captain.

After the close of his playing career, he was a successful businessman in the [[Boston]] area, where he was also active in charitable organizations. He and his wife, Ann Tansey, had two children, Therese and John, and lived in [[Bedford, Massachusetts]].<ref name="heisman1"/>

In 1976 Bellino also coached Saint Columbkille, a small Catholic school. In 1991, he was the first inductee into his high school's Winchester Sports Foundation Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://winchestersportsfoundation.com/halloffame.html |title=Winchester Sports Foundation Hall of Fame |access-date=December 14, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214181440/http://winchestersportsfoundation.com/halloffame.html |archive-date=December 14, 2013 }}</ref> Bellino Park in Winchester was dedicated in his honor in November 2004.

Bellino died on March 27, 2019, at the age of 81.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/obituaries/joe-bellino-dead.html |title=Joe Bellino, 81, Navy Star and Heisman Trophy Winner, Dies |first=Richard |last=Sandomir |date=April 3, 2019 |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=April 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190404051639/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/obituaries/joe-bellino-dead.html |archive-date=April 4, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Since the start of the team's 2019 season, Bellino's #27 jersey number is painted upon the field at each 27 yard line of [[Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium]] in memoriam.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://navysports.com/news/2019/8/15/football-naval-academy-to-place-number-27-on-the-field-at-navy-marine-corps-memorial-stadium-as-a-tribute-to-joe-bellino.aspx|title=Naval Academy to Place Number 27 on the Field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium as a Tribute to Joe Bellino|date=15 August 2019|work=NavySports.com|access-date=22 September 2024}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{College Football HoF|1755}}
* {{Heisman|joe-bellino}}
* {{Footballstats |nfl=joe-bellino |espn= |cbs= |yahoo= |fox= |si= |pfr=B/BellJo00 |rotoworld= }}

{{Heisman Winners}}
{{Maxwell Award Winners}}
{{Sporting News College Football Player of the Year}}
{{UPI College Football Player of the Year}}
{{1960 College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Redskins1961DraftPicks}}
{{Patriots1961DraftPicks}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellino, Joe}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:2019 deaths]]
[[Category:American football halfbacks]]
[[Category:Boston Patriots players]]
[[Category:Navy Midshipmen football players]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Heisman Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Maxwell Award winners]]
[[Category:United States Navy officers]]
[[Category:People from Bedford, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Winchester, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Middlesex County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Boston]]
[[Category:American Football League players]]
[[Category:Winchester High School (Massachusetts) alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:United States Navy reservists]]