Franchise player

Last updated

In professional sports, a franchise player is an athlete who is both the best player on their team and one that the team can build their "franchise" around for the foreseeable future.

Contents

Overview

In the United States, outstanding players were referred to as "franchises" at least as far back as the 1950s. [1] By the 1970s, the concept of a "franchise" player who single-handedly generates success was commonly understood in the sporting trade. [2] [3] The term franchise player was in widespread use by the early 1980s to describe both star rookies like John Elway [4] and Kelvin Bryant [5] and veterans like George Brett. [6] While the term is primarily associated with North American sports, [1] [7] it is sometimes used in reference to athletes in sports outside the United States, such as rugby league. [8] [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver Broncos</span> National Football League franchise in Denver, Colorado

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquartered in Dove Valley, Colorado.

A demonym or gentilic is a word that identifies a group of people in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place. Demonyms are used to designate all people of a particular place, regardless of ethnic, linguistic, religious or other cultural differences that may exist within the population of that place. Examples of demonyms include Cochabambino, for someone from the city of Cochabamba; French for a person from France; and Swahili, for a person of the Swahili coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Elway</span> American football player and executive (born 1960)

John Albert Elway Jr. is an American former professional football quarterback who spent his entire 16-year career with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). Following his playing career, he then spent 11 years with the Broncos in various front office positions, eventually being promoted to general manager. Elway, along with former backup quarterback and head coach Gary Kubiak, are the only individuals to be associated with all three of the Broncos' Super Bowl wins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brett Hull</span> Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1964)

Brett Andrew Hull is a Canadian–American former ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Calgary Flames, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, and Phoenix Coyotes between 1986 and 2005. His career total of 741 goals is fifth highest in NHL history, and he is one of five players to score 50 goals in 50 games. He was a member of two Stanley Cup winning teams — 1999 with the Dallas Stars and 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings. In 2017 Hull was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Stabler</span> American football player (1945–2015)

Kenneth Michael Stabler was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Nicknamed "Snake", he played college football at Alabama and was selected by the Raiders in the second round of the 1968 NFL Draft. During his 10 seasons in Oakland, Stabler received four Pro Bowl selections and was named Most Valuable Player in 1974. Stabler also helped the Raiders win their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XI. He was posthumously inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Billick</span> American football player coach and commentator (born 1954)

Brian Harold Billick is an American former football coach and commentator. He was the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings from 1994 to 1998; the team broke the NFL scoring record in the 1998 season. He then spent nine seasons as head coach of the Baltimore Ravens from January 19, 1999 to December 31, 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oneonta Tigers</span> Minor league baseball team

The Oneonta Tigers were a minor league baseball team located in Oneonta, New York. They were members of the New York–Penn League. The Tigers were the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and played their home games at Damaschke Field. The team was relocated to Norwich, Connecticut, for the 2010 season and became known as the Connecticut Tigers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Brett</span> American baseball player (1948–2003)

Kenneth Alven Brett was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Kansas City Royals from 1967 to 1981. He was the second of four Brett brothers who played professional baseball, the most notable being the youngest, George Brett. Ken played for ten teams in his 14-year MLB career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott McGregor (left-handed pitcher)</span> American baseball player

Scott Houston McGregor is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles from 1976 to 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Kubiak</span> American football player and coach (born 1961)

Gary Wayne Kubiak is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a quarterback for the Denver Broncos before coaching, serving as head coach for the Houston Texans from 2006 to 2013 and the Broncos from 2015 to 2016 before stepping down from the position on January 1, 2017, citing health reasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Marchibroda</span> American football player and coach (1931–2016)

Theodore Joseph Marchibroda was an American professional football player and head coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played four years in the NFL as a quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals (1957). He was later head coach of the Colts in two different cities and decades, first in Baltimore during the 1970s and then Indianapolis during the 1990s. Upon joining the Baltimore Ravens in a similar capacity in 1996, he became the only individual to serve as head coach with both of Baltimore's NFL teams and gained the unusual distinction of having three stints as an NFL head coach for two franchises in two cities, but with no two of those tenures being for the same franchise in the same city. His career coaching record was 87–98–1 (.470) and 2–4 in the playoffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moncton Golden Flames</span> Ice hockey team in Moncton, New Brunswick

The Moncton Golden Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Moncton, New Brunswick, playing home games at the Moncton Coliseum. The team operated in the American Hockey League between 1984 and 1987. The new franchise was purchased by a group of 6 local business men after the previous franchise known as the Moncton Alpines moved to Halifax to become the Nova Scotia Oilers. The Golden Flames were the minor league affiliate of the Calgary Flames, and for their final two seasons, had an additional affiliation with the Boston Bruins. The team boasted a number of future NHL stars including Brett Hull, Joel Otto, Mike Vernon, Bill Ranford, Bob Sweeney, Gary Roberts, Lyndon Byers, Dave Reid, Brian Bradley and others. In 1987, team marketing executive Larry Haley was awarded the Ken McKenzie Award for outstanding work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Bowlen</span> American football executive

Patrick Dennis Bowlen was a Canadian–American lawyer, executive and the majority owner of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL), winning three Super Bowls. He was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the class of 2019. Bowlen owned other professional sports franchises in the Denver Colorado Area. Bowlen served as the Broncos CEO from 1984 until July 2014, when he stepped down as Broncos' CEO due to the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanford Cardinal football</span> American college football organization

The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team is known as the Cardinal, adopted prior to the 1982 season. Stanford was known as the "Cardinal" for its first two decades of athletic competition, then more commonly as the "Cardinals" until 1930. The name was changed to the "Indians" from 1930 to January 1972, and back to the "Cardinals" from 1972 through 1981. A student vote in December 1975 to change the nickname to "Robber Barons" was not approved by administrators.

The DC Touchdown Club, earlier known as The Touchdown Club of Washington, D.C., was started in 1935 with a passion for charity and sports. In the ensuing years the Club has benefited many local charities as well as providing scholarships to deserving student/athletes. The Touchdown Timmies, the club's trophies, are given each year to athletes who excelled in their respective arenas including professionals, college and scholastic players. Additionally, the Club provided monies to 15 charitable organizations each year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Marino</span> American football player (born 1961)

Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins and currently works for the same team since 2014 as a special advisor. He played college football for the Pittsburgh Panthers, earning first-team All-American honors in 1981. Marino was the last quarterback taken in the first round of the famed quarterback class of 1983. He held or currently holds dozens of NFL records associated with the quarterback position, and despite never being on a Super Bowl-winning team, he is recognized among the greatest quarterbacks in American football history.

The 1978 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 96th season in the history of the franchise. The Phillies won their third straight National League East title with a record of 90–72, a game and a half over the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the Phillies defeated the Pirates in Pittsburgh on the next to last day of the season. For the third consecutive season the Phillies came up short in the NLCS, as the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated them three games to one, as they had the previous season. The Phillies were managed by Danny Ozark and played their home games at Veterans Stadium.

Quarterback U is a nickname used by sportswriters to refer to colleges that have trained a series of notable football quarterbacks (QBs). It is a literary device invoked in the individual discretion of sportswriters and does not represent any formal decision-making process or organized sportswriters' poll. Generally speaking, the term implies that many of the school's former quarterbacks later had successful careers in professional football, particularly in the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore Colts</span> Professional American football team in Baltimore, Maryland, from 1953 to 1983

The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It was the second incarnation of the Baltimore Colts, the first having played for three years in the All-America Football Conference and one in the National Football League (NFL). This Baltimore Colts played their home games at Memorial Stadium.

Tara Heiss was an American women's basketball player. A 5-foot-6-inch (1.68 m) point guard who played college basketball for the Maryland Terrapins from 1975 to 1978, she also was a member of the 1980 US Olympic team and played in the Women's Professional Basketball League. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, the University of Maryland Athletics Hall of Fame, and the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame. Many consider her the best point guard in the history of US women's basketball.

References

  1. 1 2 "franchise, n. I. 2. c. (b)" OED Online. June 2003. Oxford University Press. June 2010.
  2. Denlinger, Ken (November 30, 1977). "King Albert No Franchise but a National Jewel: This Morning". The Washington Post. p. D1.
  3. Denlinger, Ken (March 6, 1978). "Team Without a 'Franchise' Player Just Keeps Winning". The Washington Post. p. D5.
  4. Anderson, Dave (18 April 1982). "John Elway Leaning Toward Football". The New York Times . Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  5. Wallace, William N. (11 July 1983). "Stars show their 1, 2 punch". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  6. "Brett makes demands". The Globe and Mail. 4 November 1982.
  7. "franchise". Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary. Merriam-Webster . Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  8. Hadfield, Dave (2 March 2000). "Robbie seizing Bulls by the horns". The Independent . Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
  9. Ridley, Ian (14 December 2003). "There's more to life than Europe". The Observer . Retrieved 19 July 2010.