Whenever Anthony “Tony” Liscio, the longtime Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle and former Westinghouse High School star, returned to his hometown to play the Steelers, he invited a number of his teammates over to his parents’ house.
His mother, who was born in Italy, would treat Mr. Liscio’s teammates to resplendent spreads of Italian food, including homemade wine. The gatherings became so popular that, one year, a church hall had to be rented to accommodate everyone.
Mr. Liscio, who gained fame in the NFL and eventually became a Super Bowl champion, always placed an emphasis on family. He died Sunday at age 76 at his home in Lake Highlands, Texas, after battling Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS.
“He was a good person, caring. I don’t think you’d find anybody with anything bad to say about him,” said Annette Liscio, his wife of 54 years. “He was a good father and a great grandfather.”
Mr. Liscio loved his seven grandchildren, who called him “PawPaw.” When they were young, Mr. Liscio liked to take them to Chuck E. Cheese’s, and he would sit and watch them play. When they got older, Dave & Buster’s became their go-to spot.
Mr. Liscio enjoyed going to his grandchildren’s sporting events, rarely missing one. He always cheered them on and wasn’t afraid to let someone know when they made a bad play. He was proud of his grandchildren, Mrs. Liscio said, and they were proud of him.
Once, when Mr. Liscio was watching Grant, his oldest grandson, in a baseball game, Grant’s younger brother, Jack, was sitting on Mr. Liscio’s lap.
Jack, who Mrs. Liscio said was about 4 or 5 years old at the time, got up to mosey around, and when he came back to where his grandpa was sitting, another young boy had climbed onto Mr. Liscio’s lap, which led Jack to say, “He’s not your PawPaw, he’s my PawPaw.”
“I was a little protective of him then,” said Jack, now a senior in high school. He added, “I am probably a way better man because of him. I want to be a grandfather the way he was.”
Mr. Liscio grew up in Homewood and attended Westinghouse High School, where he played football under legendary coach Pete Dimperio.
Mr. Liscio played at the University of Tulsa, where he met his wife, before being drafted by Green Bay in 1963. Before the regular season began, Mr. Liscio was traded to the Dallas Cowboys.
He wore No. 72 for the Cowboys, protected quarterbacks Don Meredith and Roger Staubach, and took part in the infamous Ice Bowl in 1967. He also was on the team for Super Bowl V, when the Cowboys lost to the Baltimore Colts.
His eighth, abbreviated NFL season is what cemented his place in Cowboys history. After being traded twice in the offseason, Mr. Liscio decided to retire — until Dallas coach Tom Landry called in November, asking if Mr. Liscio would come out of retirement and rescue the injury-plagued offensive line.
He said yes — a decision that Mrs. Liscio said she encouraged because it allowed him to finish his career as a Cowboy — and helped guide Dallas to its win in Super Bowl VI. Then, he retired for good.
In retirement, Mr. Liscio became involved in the NFL Players Association’s Dallas chapter for retired players, where he volunteered to build homes for those in need.
Last summer, after he fell and injured his hip, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Mrs. Liscio said she plans to donate her husband’s brain to determine whether he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease believed to be caused by repeated hits to the head.
To those who didn’t know him well, Mr. Liscio might have appeared shy and quiet. But if you got to know him, “he was a totally different person,” Les Callison, Mr. Liscio’s longtime friend and neighbor, said.
“He always loved to joke,” Jack said. Mr. Callison added, “He really did have a big heart.”
In addition to his wife of 54 years, Mr. Liscio is survived by sons Tony of Richardson, Texas, and Michael of Boulder, Colo.; daughter Michele of Lake Highlands; and seven grandchildren.
The family asks that donations be made to the ALS Association. A Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Dallas.
First Published: June 23, 2017, 4:00 a.m.