Tony Rio

Who is Tony Rio?

Tony Rio was an American football player. He played at the fullback position for the University of Michigan from 1957 to 1959. He was chosen as the Most Valuable Player on the 1959 Michigan Wolverines football team.

A native of Lombard, Illinois, he attended Chicago's St. Philip High School where he played fullback for the St. Philip Gaels football team.

Rio received a football scholarship to attend the University of Michigan and played fullback for the Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1957 to 1959. As a sophomore in 1957, Rio appeared as a back-up fullback in games against Indiana and Ohio State, gaining 33 yards in 6 carries.

As a junior in 1958, Rio played in the Wolverines' first five games, including two games as the starting fullback. He scored his first collegiate touchdown on October 11, 1958, against the Navy Midshipmen.

Two weeks after scoring his first Michigan touchdown, Rio was arrested by campus police on charges of engaging in an illegal occupation. Six other students were also arrested, including Rio's roommate, Jack Lewis, who was the captain of Michigan's basketball team, and Carl Riseman, associate sports editor of the campus newspaper. Rio was accused of being part of a "$10,000-a-week football gambling ring" involved in selling "football spot cards," in which the purchaser bet on a series of football games and won prizes if he did better than the spread on a certain number of games. Michigan's athletic director Fritz Crisler immediately suspended both Rio and Lewis from their respective teams until the criminal charges were resolved.