Gino Marchetti Gino John Marchetti ( born January 2 , 1926 ) is a former professional American football player in the National Football League . A defensive end , he played in 1952 for the Dallas Texans and from 1953 to 1966 for the Baltimore Colts . Early years . Marchetti enlisted in the U . S . Army after graduating high school in Antioch , California and fought in the Battle of the Bulge as a machine gun ner during World War II . Upon returning home after the war , he attended Modesto Junior College ( Calif . ) for a year before joining the football program at the University of San Francisco , where his team enjoyed an undefeated season in 1951 . He was drafted in the second round with the 14th overall pick by the New York Yanks in 1952 . In 2004 , Marchetti was voted to the East - West Shrine Game Hall of Fame . Pro football career . During his rookie season , the Yanks became the Dallas Texans , which became the Baltimore Colts in 1953 . Marchetti played 13 seasons with the Colts and helped them win NFL Championships in 1958 and 1959 . During his career , he was noted for being effective against the run and a relentless pass - rusher . He was voted " the greatest defensive end in pro football history " by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972 . He moved to left offensive tackle in 1954 , a position Marchetti hated , but admitted that it taught him how to beat a blocker . He returned to defensive end in 1955 and made his first Pro Bowl . He made a big play in the 1958 NFL Championship Game when he prevented the New York Giants from gaining a first down by tackling the running back just a yard before the first down mark . He fractured his ankle on that same play but , as a team captain , insisted on watching the rest of the historic overtime contest from the sideline with his teammates rather than seeking immediate medical attention in the locker room . The injury forced him to miss the Pro Bowl that year and ended his string of nine consecutive Pro Bowl appearances . Marchetti was First - team All - Pro nine times and a Second - team selection once . Marchetti ' s stellar play led to his being called by Sid Gillman , the Los Angeles Rams head coach , " ( T ) he greatest player in football . It ' s a waste of time to run around this guy ' s end . It ' s a lost play . You don ' t bother to try it . " He was enshrined in the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1985 . Also a member of the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame . Forrest Gregg in an interview : " You ask who was the best … just my opinion , Marchetti was the best all - around player I ever played against . Great pass rusher . Great against the run . And he never let you rest . " Restaurant . In 1959 , Marchetti joined with several of his teammates , including Alan Ameche , and opened a fast food restaurant . The business grew , began to franchise , and would eventually become known as Gino ' s Hamburgers . It was a successful East Coast regional fast food chain and had 313 company - owned locations when they were sold in 1982 to Marriott International , which abandoned the name in favor of their Roy Rogers restaurants . In 2009 , Marchetti teamed with other former key Gino ' s employees to resurrect the Gino ' s name . Hiring commenced in September 2010 to staff their first new restaurant in the company ' s old hometown of King of Prussia , Pennsylvania , and Gino ' s Burgers & Chicken , as the company is now known , opened its first store on October 25 , 2010 . The company is looking for locations throughout the Philadelphia area .