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What: “SportsCentury: Brian Piccolo”

Where: ESPN Classic, Friday, 5 and 8 p.m.

Running back Brian Piccolo played only four seasons in the NFL, all with the Chicago Bears and mostly as a backup. However, he is worthy of a “SportsCentury” segment because of “Brian’s Song,” the 1971 movie about the relationship Piccolo and Gale Sayers had before Piccolo’s death of cancer on June 16, 1970.

George Will, interviewed for this show, says, “It’s what they call a three-hanky movie.”

Brett Favre says, “It gave people an inside look at, not so much the actual football itself, but the closeness of the guys. It proved that blacks and whites could get along and how a sport can bring people together.”

James Caan and Billy Dee Williams, who co-starred in “Brian’s Song,” and Sayers are among those interviewed for this “SportsCentury” segment, which chronicles Piccolo’s life.

Piccolo married his high school sweetheart, Joy, after finishing school at Wake Forest. When he was dating Joy in high school, he often insisted that Joy’s sister, Carol, come along. Carol had cystic fibrosis. That was the kind of guy Piccolo was.

In 1967, Piccolo’s second season with the Bears, the team decided that Piccolo and Sayers should room together on the road. Teammate Ronnie Bull says, “Gale was in the room and Brian comes bouncing in, throws his stuff on the bed and says, ‘OK, black boy, I don’t mind rooming with you, but I use the bathroom first.’ They both laughed.”

The cancer was discovered during the 1969 season. Piccolo had surgery to remove a tumor on Nov. 28, but the cancer came back.

Since Piccolo’s death, the Brian Piccolo Cancer Fund has raised $15 million for cancer research. On Sunday at 6 p.m., ESPN Classic will air “Brian’s Song.” At 5 p.m., a special “NFL 2Night” show will serve as a tribute to the movie.