Frankie Albert
No. 63, 13 | |||||||||||||||||
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Position: | Quarterback Punter | ||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
Born: | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | January 27, 1920||||||||||||||||
Died: | September 4, 2002 Palo Alto, California, U.S. | (aged 82)||||||||||||||||
Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||||||||||||||||
Weight: | 166 lb (75 kg) | ||||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||||
High school: | Glendale (Glendale, California) | ||||||||||||||||
College: | Stanford (1939–1941) | ||||||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1942 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10 | ||||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||||
As a player: | |||||||||||||||||
As a coach: | |||||||||||||||||
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Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||
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Career AAFC/NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||
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Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||||
Regular season: | 19–16–1 (.542) | ||||||||||||||||
Postseason: | 0–1 (.000) | ||||||||||||||||
Career: | 19–17–1 (.527) | ||||||||||||||||
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |||||||||||||||||
Coaching stats at PFR | |||||||||||||||||
Frank Cullen Albert (January 27, 1920 – September 4, 2002) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He played as a quarterback and punter with the San Francisco 49ers in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and later in National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Indians, where he led the 1940 football team to an undefeated season and the 1941 Rose Bowl.
Many who saw Albert in action credit him as being the greatest left-handed quarterback ever to play the game.[1]
Early life
Albert was born in
Professional football career
After graduation Albert served in the Navy during
Albert, a 5-foot-9-inch (1.75 m), 166-pound, left-handed passer, was credited for inventing the bootleg play, in which the quarterback fakes a handoff then runs wide with the ball hidden on his hip.[2] In 1948, he had the record for most passing touchdowns in a season in the league's history, and was named AAFC co-Most Valuable Player with Otto Graham. He played his last two seasons competing with Y. A. Tittle.
In 1950, Albert was named to the Pro Bowl when the 49ers joined the National Football League. He had 14 touchdown passes that year, and with his twelfth, he became the third quarterback in NFL history (after Sammy Baugh and Sid Luckman) with 100 career touchdown passes, which was the highmark for the position at the time (Otto Graham joined the 100 mark to end the season as well).[3] He retired after the season of 1952. In seven pro seasons, Albert threw for 10,795 yards and 115 touchdowns.
Albert played one final season with the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders.[4]
Coaching career
After his retirement, the 49ers hired him as a scout and coach. He was named head coach in 1956 by owner Tony Morabito.
In his second year, Albert led the 49ers to their first winning record since 1954. They won five of their six games before a three-game losing streak had them at 5–4. They won the final three games to finish 8–4. They finished in a tie for first in the Western Conference with the Detroit Lions, with both teams winning against the other at home. As such, they had to play a one-game playoff to determine who would play in the NFL Championship Game, with this being their first playoff game since 1949.
On December 22, they played the Lions at Kezar Stadium. Facing backup Tobin Rote (subbing in for Bobby Layne, hurt two weeks earlier), the 49ers led 24–7 at halftime on the strength of three touchdown passes from Y. A. Tittle. They led by twenty after a field goal in the third quarter, but Detroit roared back in a monumental comeback, scoring 24 unanswered points to win 31–27.[5]
Albert led the team to a 6–6 record the following year before he was replaced by Red Hickey; the 49ers would not threaten for a playoff spot until 1970. He coached the 49ers for three seasons, compiling a 19–16–1 record.
The Professional Football Researchers Association named Albert to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2007.[6]
Head coaching record
NFL
Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
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Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
SF | 1956 | 5 | 6 | 1 | .458 | 3rd in NFL Western | — | — | — | — |
SF | 1957 | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | T–1st in NFL Western | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to the Detroit Lions in conference playoff game. |
SF | 1958 | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 4th in NFL Western | — | — | — | — |
SF total | 19 | 16 | 1 | .542 | 0 | 1 | .000 | |||
Total | 19 | 16 | 1 | .542 |
Later life
After football, Albert got into real estate as he helped raise three daughters with his high school sweetheart and wife of 60 years, Martha.[7] All three of his daughters attended Stanford. One of his daughters, Jane Albert Willens, ’67, was an All-American tennis player.
He died on September 4, 2002, from Alzheimer's disease. In addition to his wife, Martha, Albert was survived by his three daughters: Nancy James of Bend, Oregon; Jane Willens of Palo Alto; and Terry Levin of San Francisco; and as well as seven grandchildren.[8]
References
- NFL.com. Archived from the originalon October 28, 2005. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ Hession, Joseph (1985). "FRANKIE ALBERT: "MR. 49ER"". The Coffin Corner. 7 (5).
- ^ "NFL Career Passing Touchdowns Leaders Through 1950". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ISBN 978-0983513667.
- ^ "Divisional Round - Detroit Lions at San Francisco 49ers - December 22nd, 1957". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
- ^ "Hall of Very Good Class of 2007". Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
- ^ "Martha Albert Obituary (2006) - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Times". Legacy.com.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (September 9, 2002). "Frankie Albert, a Pioneering Quarterback, Is Dead at 82". New York Times.
- SN(1948). Albert was named a first-team All Pro by the Daily News in 1946 and 1948 but named a second-team All-Pro by every other outlet in various years.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
- Frankie Albert at the College Football Hall of Fame
- Frankie Albert at IMDb