Frank Gifford
| Frank Gifford | |
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Positions: Halfback , Flanker |
Jersey number (s): 16 |
| born on August 16, 1930 in Santa Monica , California | |
| died on August 9, 2015 in Greenwich , Connecticut | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1952 - 1964 | |
| NFL Draft : 1952 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11 | |
| College : Southern California | |
| Teams | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Games | 136 |
| Touchdowns | 78 |
| Gaining space through running play | 3,609 yards |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
| College Football Hall of Fame | |
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford (* 16th August 1930 in Santa Monica , California ; † 9. August 2015 in Greenwich . Connecticut ) was an American American football poker players and sports presenter . He played as a halfback in the National Football League (NFL) with the New York Giants .
youth
Frank Gifford was born the son of an oil worker in Santa Monica. He has two siblings. His father was constantly looking for work and the family was constantly forced to change residence. The family did not always have a permanent home, and every now and then the family members slept in the car. Frank visited in Bakersfield , the high school , where he also played American football. His high school coach offered him a football scholarship. However, his academic achievements were not sufficient for this. In order to meet the admission requirements for the University of Southern California (USC), he first attended a junior college in Bakersfield for one year. There he also played football and was voted All-American due to his athletic achievements .
Player career
College career
Frank Gifford studied at the University of Southern California (USC) from 1949 to 1951 . For their football team, the USC Trojans , he first played on defense as a defensive back . Gifford was initially only a substitute, but was substituted on due to an injury to the starter and scored two interceptions in his first game for the Trojans . Gifford played mainly in the defense of his team but was also used sporadically as a quarterback . In 1951 he was mainly used as a running back . That year he was also voted All American . This also drew the attention of the NFL teams to him.
Professional career
In 1952, Frank Gifford was selected by the New York Giants in the first round in eleventh place in the NFL Draft . Head coach of the team was Steve Owen , who already used Gifford in his rookie year as a starter in the position of halfback. In 1954, Owen was replaced by Jim Lee Howell . He led the team in the 1956 NFL championship game . Opponents were the Chicago Bears , who clearly had to admit defeat 7:47 in the game. Gifford was able to use a pass from quarterback Charlie Conerly for a touchdown . He caught four passes and gained 131 yards .
In 1958 he played with the Giants in the NFL final against the Baltimore Colts . Two minutes before the end of the game, his team led 17:14. He himself had contributed to the result with a touchdown. The Giants had a third try and had to gain four yards of space to get a new first try. Gifford received the ball and was brought down by Gino Marchetti . Although the Colts protested decided the referee that Gifford had not achieved the four yards extra space, and the Giants gave the ball with a punt to the Colts from. Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas took advantage of this to lead his team to equalize. In the extension of the game, the Colts could then decide the game for themselves. It is still considered by many football fans to be the best football game ever played.
Although the Giants had numerous all-star players such as Emlen Tunnell , Del Shofner or Andy Robustelli in their ranks, winning the final in 1956 was Gifford's only title win. By the end of his career in 1964, he failed with his teams four times in the NFL final. In 1960, Gifford was in a game against the Philadelphia Eagles of Chuck Bednarik so hard tackled that he suffered a severe head injury. He was in hospital for ten days , missed the entire 1961 NFL season and was unable to take part in the NFL final that year. Though for a long time it looked like he would have to retire, Gifford returned to the field in 1962. In the same year he switched to the position of flanker . After the 1964 season, Gifford retired.
Off the field
Even during his playing career, Frank Gifford appeared again and again as an actor in smaller roles. He was initially a presenter for football and baseball games at the American television station CBS and switched to ABC in 1971 . Until 1997 he commented and analyzed the Monday night football games for this station together with Don Meredith , Dan Dierdorf , Lynn Swann and Howard Cosell, among others . A private scandal about a public affair with a stewardess ultimately led to the end of his career as a moderator.
Frank Gifford was married three times and had five children. His third wife is Kathie Lee Gifford , whom he married in 1986. Gifford died on August 9, 2015, at the age of 84 at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy . He found his final resting place at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura .
Honors
Frank Gifford played eight times in the Pro Bowl and was voted Pro Bowl MVP in 1958 . The All-Pro was voted six times . His shirt number is no longer assigned by the Giants. He is a member of the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team , the College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame , and the USC Athletic Hall of Fame . In 1956 he received the NFL Most Valuable Player Award for best player of a season. The Giants honor him on the New York Giants Ring of Honor .
Web links
- Short biography ( Memento from November 10, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- biography
- Frank Gifford at college
- Frank Gifford at the Giants ( Memento from February 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Frank Gifford in the nndb (English)
- Frank Gifford in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Annual statistics of the Giants 1956
- ^ Statistics NFL final 1956
- ↑ History of the Game in the Chicago Tribune
- ↑ List of moderators for Monday night football games
- ^ Richard Goldstein, Bruce Weber: Frank Gifford, Star for the Giants and in Broadcast Booth, Dies at 84. In: The New York Times , August 9, 2015 (English). Retrieved August 11, 2015.
- ↑ Eliott C. McLaughlin and Catherine E. Shoichet: Frank Gifford suffered from brain disease CTE, family says. November 26, 2015, accessed January 17, 2016 .
- ^ Frank Gifford in the Find a Grave database
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gifford, Frank |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gifford, Francis Newton |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player and television presenter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 16, 1930 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Santa Monica , California |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 9, 2015 |
| Place of death | Greenwich , Connecticut |