Abbruzzi played collegiately for the University of Rhode Island (Class of 1955), and professionally for the Canadian Football League (CFL)'s Montreal Alouettes for four years (1955–1959).

[1] Abbruzzi chose the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League for a pro career, mostly because they offered him a $500 bonus which he used for his honeymoon.

In four years with the Alouettes, 1955 to 1958, he played 49 regular season games and 2 Grey Cup matches (against the Edmonton Eskimos.)

Abbruzzi's greatest year was his first in the CFL, 1955, when he was part of a dynamic Als team that contended for the 1955 Grey Cup.

Abbruzzi continued as the Larks top rusher in 1956 with 1,062 yards and was named to a second consecutive CFL All-Star team in 1956.

In July 1959 he was traded to the Calgary Stampeders for Veryl Switzer during training camp but was released before the start of the 1959 regular season.