Michael Joseph Bacciarini was born on January 29, 1914 in Pittsburg, CA of Swiss-Italian parents and attended Grace M. Davis High School in Modesto. He attended Modesto Junior College from 1932-1933 where he competed in three sports: baseball, football and basketball. At 5' 10", 167 lbs, he was regarded as one of the best running backs in their team history, and was captain of both the football and basketball teams. Bacciarini was also All-League in basketball.
He went on to play football for the Dons from 1934 to 1936, and graduated with the class of 1936. After USF he played for two seasons with the Salinas Iceberg Packers from 1936 to 1937. In 1942 he served in the Army Air Corps and worked as an automobile mechanic. After the war, he worked as a Purchasing Agent at Lud's Auto Parts in Merced, CA. He  belonged to the American Legion Post 83.
He was inducted into the USF Hall of Fame in 1991. He was inducted into the Modesto Junior College Hall of Fame in 1990 (ModestoBee).
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