{{Short description|American football player (1901–1961)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox NFL biography | embed = | name = Nick Nardacci | image = <!-- Only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people -- see WP:NONFREE. --> | upright = | alt = | caption = | number = | position = {{hlist|Halfback|quarterback}} | birth_date = {{Birth date|1901|05|24|mf=y}} | birth_place = Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1961|08|28|1901|05|24|mf=y}} | death_place = Youngstown, Ohio, U.S. | height_ft = 5 | height_in = 10 | weight_lb = 160 | high_school = Rayen (Youngstown) | college = West Virginia | pastteams = * Cleveland Bulldogs (1925) | highlights = * Second-team All-American (1922) | pfr = NardNi20 }}
'''Nicholas James Nardacci''' (May 24, 1901 – August 28, 1961) was an American professional football halfback and quarterback. He played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers and joined the Cleveland Bulldogs of the National Football League (NFL) for one season in 1925.
==Early life== Nardacci was born in Youngstown, Ohio and graduated from Rayen High School in Youngstown.<ref>{{cite web|title=Nick Nardacci profile |publisher=databasefootball.com |url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=NARDANIC01 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610070301/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=NARDANIC01 |archivedate=2011-06-10 }}</ref>
==College career== At West Virginia University, he played college football for the West Virginia Mountaineers teams that compiled a record of 25–2–2 in Nardacci's three years as a starter from 1922 to 1924. He played on the 1922 team that played in the school's first post-season game and is the only undefeated football team in West Virginia history.<ref>{{cite web |title=Seasons |website=West Virginia University athletics |url=http://wvustats.com/sport/football/seasons |access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref> Nardacci rushed for 120 yards and one touchdown in the San Diego East-West Christmas Classic, played in San Diego on Christmas Day 1922, and also threw a touchdown pass, to lead West Virginia to a win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs.<ref>{{cite news|author=Mike Ruben|title=Bowls Too Abundant, Says State Author|newspaper=The State Journal|date=2008-12-19|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/education-training/extra-curricular-activities/11752718-1.html}}</ref> He was selected as a second-team All-American by the ''Chicago Tribune'' after the 1922 season.<ref>{{cite web |title=All-Americans |website=West Virginia University athletics |url=https://wvusports.com/sports/2019/5/16/all-americans.aspx |access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref> Nardacci played an important part in West Virginia's rivalry games against the Pittsburgh Panthers and Washington & Jefferson Presidents.<ref name=Obit>{{cite news|title=Death Takes Old WVU Star: Nick Nardacci Dies In Ohio|newspaper=The Morgantown Post|date=1961-09-02}}</ref> In the final regular-season game of 1922, Nardacci caught an 8-yard touchdown pass against Washington & Jefferson in a 14–0 win to keep West Virginia undefeated.<ref>{{cite news| date=December 1, 1922 |title=W. AND J. DEFEATED BY WEST VIRGINIA; Presidents Unable to Succeed With Their Forward Passes and Lose by 14 to 0. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1922/12/01/archives/w-and-j-defeated-by-west-virginia-presidents-unable-to-succeed-with.html |access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref> In 1923, playing against Pop Warner's Pittsburgh Panthers, Nardacci scored a nine-yard touchdown on a sweep and caught a three-yard pass for a second touchdown. He also muffed a punt, leading to a Pittsburgh touchdown; West Virginia won the game 13–7, emerging victorious from the rivalry game in consecutive years after failing to win in the previous eleven seasons.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schraf |first=Mark |title=West Virginia’s rivalry with Pitt going strong on this date in 1923 |website=The Dominion Post |url=https://www.dominionpost.com/2018/10/13/west-virginia-gets-big-win-vs-pitt-on-this-date-in-1923/ |date=October 13, 2018 |access-date=June 15, 2025}}</ref>
==Professional career== Nardacci played one year of professional football for the Cleveland Bulldogs in the National Football League (NFL) in 1925, playing in two games and starting in one.<ref name=pfr>{{cite web|title=Nick Nardacci profile|publisher=pro-football-reference.com|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NardNi20.htm}}</ref>
==See also== *1922 College Football All-America Team
==References== {{reflist|2}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nardacci, Nick}} Category:1901 births Category:1961 deaths Category:West Virginia Mountaineers football players Category:Cleveland Bulldogs players