Tony Curcillo started in football at Elyria High School (in Elyria, Ohio) where he played with later Ohio State teammate Vic Janowicz, the 1950 Heisman Trophy winner. Curcillo was the starting quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team in both 1950 and 1951 and went on to play linebacker, tailback, and center in 1952.
Curcillo was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the 6th round of the 1953 NFL Draft and played the 1953 season at both defensive back and halfback. In 1954 he joined the United States Army. He was stationed at Fort Carson, where he played quarterback for the base football team in 1954 and 1955. Curcillo rejoined the Cardinals in 1956, but did not receive any playing time. Midway through the season he joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as an emergency replacement for the controversial Ronnie Knox. Curcillo joined the team at the end of September in one of those odd trades between his old NFL team and the Ti-Cats (Chicago received Hardy Brown in return). He played well in relief of the battered Nobby Wirkowski, and was impressing league members and played part of October with his left hand in a cast (during this span he lost an October 20th game to the Alouettes by an 82-14 score which set several single game records, aided by the six interceptions he threw). However, in the eastern playoff final he fought back and mounted the single greatest offensive attack the Alouettes had seen all season, however in a losing cause.
Going into the following season, concerns about the accuracy of his passing arm convinced the Ti-Cats to seek more of a pure passer. As a result the much heralded Bernie Faloney joined the Tiger-Cats in 1957 from the Eskimos, and Curcillo moved to linebacker while also serving as the team's backup quarterback with the trade of Wirkowski to Ottawa. He played very well on the defensive side of the line, and in the playoffs even returned to the offence – this time as a fullback, spelling Cookie Gilchrist. Curcillo was named an eastern all-star, and captained the defense through the 1957 championship season. In 1958 he returned as the starting linebacker, won his second East All-Star honour (there were no CFL All-Stars until 1962), and played in the East-West game. Despite that, Curcillo was waived during training camp in July 1959. He returned in 1960 and made the team as a back-up quarterback. It was his last stop as he got into just two games and his single passing attempt was, alas, an interception.
[Bio by Wes Cross]
Andy O'Brien on Tony Curcillo - September 13, 1958
| Year | Team | GP | PA | PC | % | Yds | TD | Int | Sacked | Yds | TC | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD | Long | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | HAM | 7 | 152 | 83 | 54.6 | 1726 | 18 | 20 | 39 | 335 | 8.6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| 1957 | HAM | 13 | 14 | 4 | 28.6 | 84 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 4.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1958 | HAM | 12 | 6 | 2 | 33.3 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1960 | HAM | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Year | Team | Int | Yds | Avg | TDInt | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | HAM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957 | HAM | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 0 | 10 |
| 1958 | HAM | 3 | 7 | 2.3 | 0 | 5 |
| 1960 | HAM | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
