- Frank Gifford
NFLretired
|caption=
position=HB / Flanker
number=16
birthdate=birth date and age|1930|8|16Santa Monica, California
debutyear=1952
finalyear=1964
draftyear=1952
draftround=1
draftpick=11
college=Southern California
teams=
*New York Giants (1952-1964)
stat1label=Rushing Yards
stat1value=3,609
stat2label= Receiving Yards
stat2value=5,434
stat3label=Touchdowns
stat3value=77
nfl=GIF207645
highlights=
* 8xPro Bowl selection (1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1963)
* 6xAll-Pro selection (1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959)
*NFL 1950s All-Decade Team
* 1956UPI NFL MVP
* 1958Pro Bowl MVP
* New York Giants #16 Retired
HOF=75
CollegeHOF=50072Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford (born
August 16 1930 ) is a formerAmerican football player and one of the better-known American sports commentators in the latter part of the 20th century who made the transition from an athlete to broadcasting.Biography
Early life
Gifford was born in
Santa Monica, California , the son of Lola Mae (née Hawkins) and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller. [http://www.filmreference.com/film/41/Frank-Gifford.html] After graduating fromBakersfield High School , Gifford was unable to gain an athletic scholarship to theUniversity of Southern California (USC) due to his lowgrade point average . Undeterred, he played a season forBakersfield College , making the Junior College All-American team while making the grades needed to enroll at USC.cite web |url=http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Gifford_Frank.html |title=Gifford was star in backfield, booth |author=Mike Puma |publisher=ESPN Classic] At USC, Gifford was named anAll-America .NFL career
He began his NFL career with the
New York Giants by playing both offense and defense, a rarity when platoon football became popular afterWorld War II . He made eightPro Bowl appearances and had five trips to the NFL Championship Game, the forerunner of theSuper Bowl . 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 theChicago Bears .He lost 18 months in the prime of his career when he was the victim of one of the most brutal, though completely legal, hits in NFL history. During a 1960 game against the
Philadelphia Eagles , he was cleanly blindsided byChuck Bednarik on a passing play, suffering a severe head injury that led him to retire from football. However, Gifford returned to the Giants in 1962, changing positions fromrunning back towide receiver (then known as flanker). Despite his long layoff and having to learn a new position, he became a star once again.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. Gifford completed 29 of the 63 passes he threw for 823 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Gifford was officially inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame on July 30, 1977.Broadcasting career
After his playing days ended, Gifford became a
commentator mainly for NFL games onCBS . His big break came in 1971 when he replacedKeith Jackson asplay-by-play announcer on ABC's "Monday Night Football ", joiningHoward Cosell andDon Meredith , and would continue on as a commentator until 1997, amid controversy regarding an affair he had with airline stewardessSuzen Johnson . In 1998, he was given a reduced role on the pregame show. After that, Gifford left "Monday Night Football".Gifford also served as a reporter and commentator on other ABC programs, such as their coverage of the Olympic Games and
skiing , and has guest hosted "Good Morning America " on occasion. In 1995, he was given thePete Rozelle Award by the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his NFL television work.He also announced
Evel Knievel 's jumps for ABC's "Wide World of Sports" in the 1970s, including when Knievel failed to clear 17 buses at Wembley Stadium in 1975.Family
Gifford has a younger brother, Waine, and an older sister, Winona. He has a daughter Heidi from a woman he did not marry. Gifford has another daughter, Victoria Denise Gifford (b.
February 20 ,1957 ) with Maxine Avis Ewart. Heidi was married toMichael Meyers . Victoria married a member of theKennedy family ,Michael LeMoyne Kennedy .Gifford has been married (since 18 October 1986) to current "Today Show"
talk show host and singerKathie Lee Gifford (who coincidentally shares his August 16 birthday). They have two children: son Cody Newton Gifford (b. March 22, 1990) and daughter Cassidy Erin Gifford (b. August 2, 1993).Affair
In 1997, the tabloid "The Globe" hired
Trans World Airlines flight attendant Suzen Johnson to seduce Frank Gifford in a hotel room equipped with cameras installed by the newspaper. ESPN later reported that Johnson was paid $75,000. The Atlantic put the figure at $125,000. [cite web |url=http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99aug/9908tabloids.htm |title="CREEPING TABLOIDISM!" LAWYER CLAIMS |publisher=The Atlantic Online |date=August 1999] Johnson succeeded and "The Globe" published photographs showing Frank Gifford with Johnson. The New York District Attorney considered filing criminal charges against "The Globe" for, among other things,prostitution , but the Giffords asked that he drop the case.Popular culture
Because of his diverse talents -- as an athlete, as a broadcaster, game-show participant (in the 1960s he appeared on "Password" regularly) -- "Mad" magazine poked fun at him in its "Monday Night Football" parody, by calling him "Frank Gifted".
TV network executives also thought he had acting potential. He made an unsold pilot ("Turnpike", a crime drama in the mold of "Dragnet" and "Highway Patrol", in which he starred as a New Jersey state trooper) in the early 1960s. Clips were seen in his "
A&E Biography " episode.He also did occasional guest spots on TV shows, such as "Hazel". ("Hazel and the Halfback," episode originally broadcast Dec. 26, 1963.)
Frank Gifford also appears as a character in the semi-autobiographical novel, "
A Fan's Notes ", byFrederick Exley .ee also
*
History of the New York Giants (1925-1978) References
External links
*"Pro Football Hall of Fame:" [http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=75 Member profile]
* [http://www.usclegends.org/frank-gifford.php Profile at USC Legends]
* [http://www.footballcardgallery.com/player/Frank+Gifford Old football cards of Frank Gifford]Persondata
NAME=Gifford, Francis Newton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Gifford, Frank
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American football player, television sportscaster
DATE OF BIRTH=August 16 ,1930
PLACE OF BIRTH=Santa Monica ,California
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
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