1. Thomas Anthony Colella was an American professional football halfback, punter and safety who played in the National Football League and All-America Football Conference for the Detroit Lions, the Cleveland Rams, the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills.
Tommy Colella grew up in New York and was a high school football star in his hometown of Albion, New York.
Tommy Colella played four years of college football at Canisius College before being drafted by the NFL's Detroit Lions.
Tommy Colella was on the Lions' roster for two years, after which he moved to the Rams in 1945 and the Browns of the AAFC in 1946.
Tommy Colella stayed with the Browns for three years, in each of which the team won the AAFC championship.
Tommy Colella spent the 1949 season with the Buffalo Bills before leaving football.
Tommy Colella grew up in Albion, New York, and played three sports at the city's Charles D'Amico High School.
Tommy Colella was a running back, quarterback, defensive back, kicker and kick-return man at the school, and won Little All-America honors three years in a row.
Tommy Colella returned a kickoff for a touchdown and kicked two extra points in a Canisius Golden Griffins win over the then-undefeated Long Island Blackbirds in 1940.
Tommy Colella played as a halfback and punter for the Rams, who won the NFL championship in 1945.
Tommy Colella was among five players who joined the Browns when the Rams moved to Los Angeles before the 1946 season; the others were Chet Adams, Don Greenwood, Mike Scarry and Gaylon Smith.
Tommy Colella was traded to the Buffalo Bills in May 1949 along with Chet Adams, his former Rams teammate.
Tommy Colella played one season for the Bills before leaving football.
Tommy Colella was inducted into the Canisius College Athletics Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class in 1963.
Tommy Colella was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2002, ten years after his death.