Eugene "Gene" "Squeaky" Melchiorre (born August 10, 1927) is a retired American basketball player. He was drafted by the Baltimore Bullets and was the first overall pick in the 1951 NBA Draft, although he never played a game due to his ban from professional basketball for point shaving.

He was the fifth of six children born in Highland Park, Illinois, to a gardener who moved his family there from Joliet in 1936. Though short stature and having pigeon toes, Melchiorre excelled in nearly ever sport he tried. He was a starting wingback on the Highland Park football team, a basketball player, a baseball player, a tennis player and, in his later years, a golfer. After joining the Army, Melchiorre joined the basketball team at Fort Sheridan, known as the Ramblers, that won 58 out of 63 games during his two-year tour (1945–47).

Melchiorre played guard for Bradley University in the 1947-48 to 1950-51 seasons. Standing only 5'8" and weighing 175 lbs, he was famous for his passing abilities and his ability to score. During his tenure, Bradley won 119 games while losing only 22. He participated in both the NIT and NCAA Tournament in 1950, in which Bradley lost to CCNY in both games.

Gene Gnocchi (byname of Eugenio Ghiozzi; born March 1, 1955), best known by his stage name is an Italian television presenter, comedian and footballer.

Gene Gnocchi was born in Fidenza into a working class family. He was an aspiring vocalist in a rock band when he was younger, and also has a degree as a lawyer; however, both these different roads produced quite unsuccessful results.

He took advice from the general public and took the road of a comedian. He started to appear on the then unknown stage of Milan's Zelig in the 1980s, as well as an emerging comedian on the Maurizio Costanzo Show.

Gene started enjoying success in the 1990s and now is mostly known for his role in Quelli che il calcio, a Raidue football-related TV show with Simona Ventura, usually aired on Sundays.

During the 2006/2007 edition of Quelli che il calcio, Gene Gnocchi challenged the entire world of football, asking for an opportunity to play five minutes in a Serie A match. He wants to prove that he's better than some of the overrated Serie A players, and wants to remind everyone that at the end of the day football is only a game.