(1921-03-18)March 18, 1921 Farmington, West Virginia, U.S.
Died:
November 22, 2005(2005-11-22) (aged 84) Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S.
Height:
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:
233 lb (106 kg)
Career information
High school:
Farmington
College:
Marshall (1940–1941) Auburn (1945)
Undrafted:
1946
Career history
Cleveland Browns (1946–1956)
Detroit Lions (1957)
Career highlights and awards
4× NFL champion (1950, 1954, 1955, 1957)
4× AAFC champion (1946–1949)
4× First-team All-Pro (1951–1953, 1955)
Pro Bowl (1956)
Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor
Marshall Thundering Herd No. 72 retired
Military career
Allegiance
United States
Service/branch
U.S. Army
Years of service
1942–1945
Rank
Private first class
Battles/wars
World War II
European Theatre
Normandy Invasion
Career NFL statistics
Games played:
144
Games started:
124
Interceptions:
3
Interception yards:
35
Fumble recoveries:
3
Defensive touchdowns:
1
Player stats at PFR
Pro Football Hall of Fame
Frank "Gunner" Gatski (March 18, 1921 – November 22, 2005) was an American professional football center who played for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) in the 1940s and 1950s. Gatski was one of the most heralded centers of his era. Known for his strength and consistency, he helped protect quarterback Otto Graham and open up running lanes for fullback Marion Motley as the Browns won seven league championships between 1946 and 1955. Gatski won an eighth championship after he was traded to the Detroit Lions in 1957, his final season.
Gatski was born in West Virginia to a coal-mining family. He played for three years on his local high school team before attending Marshall University, where he continued to play football. He joined the U.S. Army in 1942 and went to fight in World War II. Upon his return in 1945, he played in a couple of games at Auburn University, before officials found out he had attended and played for Marshall, and took classes. After graduating, he tried out and made the roster for the Browns, a team under formation in the new AAFC thanks to Johnny Brickels, the former Huntington High School football coach who knew Paul Brown (Ed Ulinski of Marshall also tried out, played and later coached the Browns) after another former Marshall player, Sam Clagg, alerted Brickels to the two players. Gatski played as a linebacker and backup center for most of his first two years before earning a spot as the starting center. He retained that position as Cleveland continued to dominate the AAFC, going 47–4–2 and winning four championships before the league dissolved and the Browns, the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts were absorbed by the NFL in 1950. Gatski and the Browns won the 1950, 1954 and 1955 titles, losing in the title game in 1951–52–53. He retired after the 1957 season when he won an eighth title with the Detroit Lions, never having missed a game or practice in his career.
After leaving football, Gatski worked briefly as a scout for the Boston Patriots. He then joined a reform school in West Virginia as athletic director and head football coach, staying there until the school closed in 1982. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. Marshall retired Gatski's number 72 in 2005, the only football number retired for the Thundering Herd. He died that year in a nursing home in West Virginia. In 2006, the East End Bridge in Huntington, West Virginia was renamed the Frank Gatski Memorial Bridge in his honor.
Frank "Gunner" Gatski (March 18, 1921 – November 22, 2005) was an American professional football center who played for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America...
The East Huntington Bridge (officially the FrankGatski Memorial Bridge, also called the East End Bridge or the 31st Street Bridge) is a 900-foot (270 m)...
was named Division I- AA Coach of the Year in 1992 and 1995. FrankGatski, C, 1985. Gatski is the only Marshall player to have his jersey number retired...
football locker rooms were named after him in honor of his contributions. FrankGatski, Pro Football Hall of Fame (inducted 1985), Canton, Ohio; Center/linebacker...
April 2, 2024. "FrankGatski". Pro Football Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2022. "FrankGatski Stats, Height...
gold medalist, world record holder and television sports commentator FrankGatski (1945), National Football League Hall of Famer with the Cleveland Brown...
Cleveland Browns defense 'The Dawgs' in the mid-1980s. Dixon and teammates Frank Minnifield and Eddie Johnson would bark at each other and to the fans in...
Transportation Safety Board. 16 December 1970. Retrieved 2 November 2023. Griggs, Frank Jr. (April 2022). "Silver Bridge Failure (aka Point Pleasant Bridge)" (PDF)...
Henry Jordan, Mike McCormack Lions: Jack Christiansen, Lou Creekmur, FrankGatski, John Henry Johnson, Yale Lary, Bobby Layne, Joe Schmidt TV in the United...
game record, among many. Pete Brewster, LE Lou Groza, LT Abe Gibron, LG FrankGatski, C Chuck Noll, RG John Sandusky, RT Dante Lavelli, RE Otto Graham, QB...
(Lou Groza), guards in the 30-39 range, and centers in the 20-29 range (FrankGatski). When the AAFC merged with the NFL in 1950, the AAFC players kept their...
professional baseball player Bob Gain, professional football player FrankGatski, professional football player Marshall Goldberg, professional football...
from the NFL. "I just went up there to see what would happen", center FrankGatski said many years later. Cleveland's first regular-season game took place...
what would happen," center FrankGatski said many years later. Almost all of the players Brown signed were war veterans. Gatski hitchhiked to Bowling Green...
commentator, and coach Julian Edelman (born 1986), New England Patriots player FrankGatski (1919–2005), former NFL player Mike Gesicki (born 1995), football player...
Wolverines 1928 New York Giants 1929–1931 Brooklyn Dodgers 1932–1934 FrankGatski[3] 1985 Center Cleveland Browns (AAFC/ NFL) 1946–1956 Detroit Lions 1957...
Attendance 87,695 Hall of Famers Browns: Paul Brown (coach/gm), Len Ford, FrankGatski, Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Mike McCormack Rams: Dan Reeves...
the team in 1946. Other signings included receiver Mac Speedie, center FrankGatski and back Edgar "Special Delivery" Jones. Brown brought in assistants...
Dick Stanfel, Doak Walker Browns: Paul Brown (coach/gm), Len Ford, FrankGatski, Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Marion Motley, Mac Speedie, Bill...
Hall of Famers Browns: Paul Brown (coach/gm), Doug Atkins, Len Ford, FrankGatski, Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Marion Motley, Chuck Noll (as...
Van Brocklin, Bob Waterfield Browns: Paul Brown (coach/gm), Len Ford, FrankGatski, Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Marion Motley, Mac Speedie, Bill...
Attendance 59,475 Hall of Famers Browns: Paul Brown (coach/gm), Len Ford, FrankGatski, Otto Graham, Lou Groza, Dante Lavelli, Marion Motley, Mac Speedie, Bill...
Global Information
United States
U.S. Army
Private first class