Born January 9, 1917, the son of a coalminer, he went on to college at Indiana University playing football four years as an interior lineman as well as earning a Bachelor of Education degree in 1941.
It was Mike Bucchianeri who kicked the decisive two extra points in the North's 14–12 victory over the South in the 1940 Blue-Gray Game.
Drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 1941, Mike suffered a serious head injury near the end of the season and spent two years with the Packers' affiliate team in Wilmington, Delaware to hone his kicking skills and serve as an assistant line coach.
Mike returned to Green Bay and helped the Packers win their sixth world championship over the New York Giants in 1944 and retired in 1945.
Following his playing career, Bucchianeri became a line coach at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin and a high school referee.