Aldo Gradi was born in Bologna on 12 December 1885. He graduated from Liceo Minghetti in Bologna in November 1904 and attended the Faculty of Law at the University of Bologna, graduating on 19 April 1909 with the thesis “Parliamentary Allowances for Deputies”. He later practised as a notary. He died in his hometown on 28 October 1949.
A pioneer in the ranks of the Società Sportiva Studentesca, Aldo Gradi always played a decisive role in the historic moments of the very first Bologna FC. Sporting passion, moreover, ran in the family. His brother Arrigo — the club’s first captain (sixth standing from the left in the photograph) — had been the one who suggested the colours of the team: nicknamed “the shirt guy”, he was inspired to choose red and blue by the shirt worn at the Swiss college Wiget in Rorschach, which he himself had attended and where he had first begun to play football.
CAPTIONS
1 - Bologna FC line-up in 1910-11.
2 - High school diploma from Liceo Minghetti in Bologna.
3 - Title page of his thesis.