Mario Danelo
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
.
High school career
Danelo was an all–Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
at San Pedro High School
San Pedro High School
San Pedro High School is a public high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District and is located in the San Pedro portion of the city of Los Angeles, California. In 2003, the school celebrated its 100th Anniversary....
in San Pedro, California. Danelo was also a fullback and kicker at his high school. Because, at 5'10" and 200 lbs, he was undersized to be a major college linebacker, his father, former 9-year National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
kicker Joe Danelo
Joe Danelo
Joseph Peter Danelo is a former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers, the New York Giants, and the Buffalo Bills between 1975 and 1984...
, taught him the position. Danelo became the first San Pedro High Pirate to play football at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
in 30 years.
College career
Danelo was a walk-on college footballCollege football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
player at USC in 2003. He redshirted his first year and did not have any kick attempts in the 2004 season. He earned an athletic scholarship
Athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
starting in 2005. During the 2005 season, he set the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
, Pac-10
Pacific Ten Conference
The Pacific-12 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the Western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I; its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision , the higher of two levels of NCAA Division I football competition...
and USC Trojans
USC Trojans
The USC Trojans are the athletic teams representing the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the Trojans, the women's athletic teams are referred to as either the Trojans or Women of Troy...
season record for hitting 83 out of 86 PAT
Extra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
s. In 2006, Danelo led USC in scoring with 89 points. During the 2006 season, Danelo made 15 of 16 field-goal attempts and 44 of 48 PATs. In his final game, the 21-year-old kicked two field goals in helping USC achieve victory in the 2007 Rose Bowl
2007 Rose Bowl
The 2007 Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2007 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It was the 93rd Rose Bowl Game and part of the 2006-2007 Bowl Championship Series at the conclusion of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
.
Death and memorial
In the early morning hours of January 6, 2007, after partying with friends, Mario left his family's San Pedro home, telling his father he was going for a walk. He was found dead later that day by a passer-by at the bottom of the 120 feet (36.6 m) White Point Cliff near Point Fermin LighthousePoint Fermin Light
-History:The original fourth order Fresnel lens was removed in 1942 and a wood replica lantern was installed in 1974. The lighthouse was saved from demolition in 1972 and refurbished in 1974, and a new lantern room and gallery were built by local preservationists...
, several blocks from his house. No signs of scuba gear, surfing equipment, or swimsuits were found, and his car was not in the vicinity. The police ruled out foul play as the cause of death. In front of the cliff, which he is suspected to have accidentally fallen off, there are signs forbidding entrance. Danelo's autopsy toxicological report found he had a 0.23 blood-alcohol level at the time of his death, almost three times the California legal limit to operate a vehicle on public roadways. The coroner's report listed the cause of death as the result of "multiple traumatic injuries;" however the coroner could not determine how those injuries had occurred. Danelo's blood tested free from drugs. As of March 2007, the manner of death was undetermined.
Two thousand people attended Danelo's funeral at Mary Star of the Sea Catholic church as city streets in San Pedro were closed to handle traffic and four thousand mourners spilled outside of the filled church. The speakers included his older brother Joey Danelo, USC head coach Pete Carroll
Pete Carroll
Peter Clay Carroll is the head coach and executive Vice-President of the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. He is a former head coach of the New York Jets, New England Patriots and the University of Southern California Trojans football team.-Early life:Carroll attended Redwood High...
, and his San Pedro High coach Mike Walsh
Mike Walsh
Mike Walsh may refer to:* Mick Walsh , Chairman of DEC - a UK charity umbrella group.* Mike Walsh , host of the Australian television program The Mike Walsh Show...
. Among the mourners were approximately 100 of his former USC teammates and coaches, including Shaun Cody
Shaun Cody
Shaun Michael Cody is an American football defensive tackle for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the second round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern California.-Early years:Cody attended Los Altos High School in...
, Matt Grootegoed
Matt Grootegoed
Matt Grootegoed is a professional gridiron football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2005...
, Fred Matua
Fred Matua
Fred Matua is an American football guard that is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
, Tom Malone
Tom Malone (American football)
Thomas Malone is an American football punter for the Sacramento Mountain Lions. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2006...
, and Scott Ware
Scott Ware
Scott Ware is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2006...
.
For the 2007 season
2007 USC Trojans football team
The 2007 University of Southern California Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California during the college football season of 2007–2008, winning a share of the Pacific-10 Conference Championship and winning the 2008 Rose Bowl...
, USC players wore a #19 sticker on their helmets in honor of Danelo. In addition, the Kennedy-Jones practice field had the number "19" sprayed onto its end zones. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team...
has also put a banner above the tunnel with Danelo's name and the goal-post pads will pay tribute to him.
Before the beginning of the 2007 opener, USC held a special ceremony with a video tribute, a moment of silence before the game, and coach Pete Carroll and Athletic Director Mike Garrett
Mike Garrett
Michael Lockett Garrett is a former American collegiate and professional football player who won the 1965 Heisman Trophy as a tailback for the University of Southern California Trojans. Garrett also played professional football for eight seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers...
presented a jersey to Danelo's parents. On September 1, 2007, in USC's first game of the season against the Idaho Vandals, USC intentionally lined up for the PAT
Extra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
without a kicker following their first touchdown of the game, taking a 5-yard delay of game
Delay of game
Delay of game is an action in a sports game in which a player or team deliberately stalls the game, usually with the intention of using the delay to its advantage. In some sports, the delay of game is considered an infraction if it is longer than that permitted according to the game's rules, in...
in tribute to their late teammate. The moment was chosen by ESPN as one of the Pac-10's Top 10 Moments Of BCS Era.
On December 17, 2007, San Pedro High School dedicated a large mural on campus to Danelo. The mural was planned and donated by a USC group and was entitled "Livin' the Dream" by sports muralist Mike Sullivan.