42 Athletes That Died Before 40

NBA | February 16, 2021

Brian Piccolo

Brian Piccolo’s death inspired the movie Brian’s Song, starring James Caan. Piccolo was drafted by the Chicago Bears but only played four years. He had to take himself out of a game in 1969 as he was struggling to breathe.

Piccolo was found to have a type of germ cell testicular cancer that was only diagnosed after it had already spread to his chest cavity. He was only 26 years old at the time of his passing.