Frank Gifford R.I.P.

[sport historian]

Frank Gifford died today, age 84.

 

[BeyondFedUp]

I always liked Gifford. Tough and seemed old-school. I was ticked when jewish Al Michaels took over play-by-play on MNF years ago when Frank was doing fine. But, Al is a jew and Frank was a White Christian gentile, so we know what happens in those cases...
He will be missed.
RIP Frank.

 

[Don Wassall]

Sad news. Frank Gifford was a Hall of Fame football player and an excellent announcer. He had it all -- athleticism, good looks, charm, charisma. He was one of the last well-known connections to a time when America was still an indisputably White country and White athletes ruled the roost.

 

[Extra Point]

He seemed like a pretty good announcer.

RIP Frank Gifford

 

[jaxvid]

Here's a synopsis of his career from Wikipedia. Gifford was indeed one of the last "golden boys" a great white athlete that was a role model for thousands of kids through the years. There are virtually none like that left.

A couple of interesting notes on his life. He didn't have the grades to get into USC right away so he went to junior college. USC turns few highly talented recruits away due to grades anymore. Also Gifford missed a good chuck of his career due to a hard tackle, he probably was concussed. Didn't seem to effect him as he lived 85 years much of it in the public eye.

from Wikipedia:

Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae (née Hawkins) and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller.[SUP][1][/SUP][SUP][2]
[/SUP]

After graduating from Bakersfield High School, Gifford was unable to gain an athletic scholarship to the University of Southern California (USC) due to his low grade point average. Undeterred, he played a season for Bakersfield Junior College, making the Junior College All-American team while making the grades needed to enroll at USC.[SUP][3][/SUP][SUP][4][/SUP]
At USC, Gifford was named an All-American athlete and player and graduated in the class of 1952.[SUP][4][/SUP] In 1951 he ran for 841 yards on 195 carries.[SUP][5][/SUP]


He began his NFL career with the New York Giants by playing both offense and defense.[SUP][6][/SUP] He made eight Pro Bowl appearances and had five trips to the NFL Championship Game. Gifford's biggest season may have been 1956, when he won the Most Valuable Player award of the NFL, and led the Giants to the NFL title over the Chicago Bears.


He lost 18 months in the prime of his career when he was laid out by a hard tackle. During a 1960 game against the Philadelphia Eagles, he was knocked out by Chuck Bednarik on a passing play, suffering a severe head injury that led him to retire from football in 1961.[SUP][7][/SUP] However, Gifford returned to the Giants in 1962, changing positions from running back to wide receiver (then known as flanker).[SUP][8]

[/SUP]

His Pro Bowl selections came at three different positions—defensive back, running back, and wide receiver. He retired again, this time for good, in 1964, after making the Pro Bowl as a receiver.


During his 12 seasons with the New York Giants (136 regular season games) Frank Gifford had 3,609 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns in 840 carries, he also had 367 receptions for 5,434 yards and 43 touchdowns.[SUP][7][/SUP] Gifford completed 29 of the 63 passes he threw for 823 yards and 14 touchdowns with 6 interceptions. The 6 interceptions is tied with Walter Payton for most interceptions thrown by a non-quarterback in NFL history, while the 14 touchdowns is also the most among any non-quarterback in NFL history[SUP][9]
[/SUP]

Gifford was officially inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on July 30, 1977.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

RIP to one of Bakerfield's finest (along with the late Buck Owens).

 

[sport historian]

Sad news. Frank Gifford was a Hall of Fame football player and an excellent announcer. He had it all -- athleticism, good looks, charm, charisma. He was one of the last well-known connections to a time when America was still an indisputably White country and White athletes ruled the roost.

Yes, that's how it was during Frank Gifford's peak years as a player.

 

[The Hock]

I didn't catch Gifford as a player but I well remember him as the stabilizer between irascible Don Meredith and blowhard Howard Cosell on MNF. He was very good play by play announcer.

 

[celticdb15]

RIP seemed like quite the athlete in his day!!