Tony Visco celebrates birthday No. 58 today as we caught up with him while he was on business in Louisville, Kentucky. He and his wife Valerie are making his way to the Lafayette area to visit daughter Charlene to celebrate the next few days.
Visco arrived in West Lafayette in 1983 and promptly redshirted. He made a splash in his debut in 1984, helping the Boilermakers beat Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan en route to earning a Peach Bowl bid.
Visco finished his career in West Lafayette with 351 tackles, which still ranks No. 10 in Purdue annals. Visco's 210 career solo tackles are No. 17 in school history. And his team-leading eight sacks in 1987 still rank No. 14 in a single season in Boilermaker record books.
The 6-4, 235-pound Visco was the No. 4 overall pick in the 1987 draft, getting tabbed by the BC Lions. He went on to play in the CFL from 1988-91, toiling for Toronto, BC, Saskatchewan and Hamilton before retiring.
Visco, a native of Mississauga, Ont., has called Chattanooga, Tenn., home for over 11 years. He is the operations manager for Louisville Tile of Chattanooga.