No. 86 | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Position: | Tight end | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | April 17, 1962||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 225 lb (102 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Mt. Lebanon (Pennsylvania) | ||||||||
College: | Ohio State | ||||||||
NFL draft: | 1984 / round: 2 / pick: 56 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
|
John E. Frank (born April 17, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 1988. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Frank was selected by the 49ers in the second round of the 1984 NFL draft, and won two Super Bowls with the team. After his football career, he became a hair restoration surgeon.
Frank was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Barbara and Alan Frank. He graduated from Mt Lebanon High School in 1980. During high school, he volunteered in the surgical laboratory of Dr Thomas Starzl, the "Father of Modern Transplantation", part of a team that performed the world's first liver transplant.
While at Ohio State, John Frank was the starting tight end from 1981 to 83 and caught more passes than any other tight end in the history of the school. He was honored as a two-time Academic All-American, became the team's most valuable player, and was selected as a member of the All Century Ohio State Football Team and Ohio State's Varsity Hall of Fame. [1]
As a senior, Frank was named a second-team All-American by both Gannett News Service (GNS) and the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA). [2] [3]
As an undergraduate, he co-authored several research papers investigating the best treatments for pediatric croup and the work was published in the Laryngoscope . [4]
While finishing at Ohio State, he was invited to attend the Combine in Indianapolis in 1984, but declined in order to continue studying for his final exams. He was drafted in the second round of the NFL draft by the San Francisco Forty Niners and in June 1984 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry from Ohio State.
Frank had already been accepted into several medical schools, but decided to enroll at Ohio State University College of Medicine because they had an independent study program which allowed flexibility to continue playing in the NFL while completing the first year of medical school. They also offered a deferred enrollment into medical school, but Frank chose to attend medical school during the NFL off-seasons.
During medical school, he continued researching diseases of the head and neck and microvascular surgery and the Gait Analysis laboratory.
Frank was selected in the second round of the 1984 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers. [6] During his first season, he played as a reserve tight end behind Russ Francis, and as a specialist, while the team went 18–1 as they defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX. He injured his left elbow during the NFC Championship victory over the Chicago Bears, and therefore saw limited time in Super Bowl XIX.
During his five-year career, he caught 65 passes for 662 yards and became the starting tight end during his fourth and fifth seasons. [7] In Super Bowl XXIII he caught two passes, including a key pass thrown by Joe Montana during the winning touchdown drive. [8]
Following the game and during what was considered to be the height of his professional football career, he announced his retirement to devote himself full-time to medical school. The vacated tight end position was filled by future All-Pro tight end Brent Jones in 1989. The Forty Niners also drafted Wesley Walls in the second round of the 1989 draft.
After retiring from football, Frank earned his M.D. from Ohio State in 1992. He is an otolaryngologist, board-certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology and the American Board Of Hair Restoration Surgery. He became a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, an assistant professor of Clinical Otolarygology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and The Ohio State University College of Medicine-adjunct. He has performed over 2,500 hair transplant procedures in New York, California and Ohio. In 2006 he opened Anapelli Hair Clinic in New York City, which has since been renamed to John Frank MD Hair Clinics, and expanded the practice to Columbus Ohio in 2014. [9] [10] At both offices, Frank specializes in non-surgical hair restoration and surgical hair transplantation, as well as biocapillation. [11] He has three children.
John Gregory Taylor is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver and kick returner with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He attended Pennsauken High School and was one of six NFL players to come from PHS during the 1980s. Taylor attended Delaware State College and was a member of their football team, the Hornets. He was a member of the 49ers teams that won Super Bowls XXIII, XXIV, and XXIX. His younger brother is former safety Keith Taylor.
Natrone Jermaine Means is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Diego Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Carolina Panthers from 1993 to 2000.
Brent Michael Jones is an American former professional football player, business executive, businessman, coach, and sports analyst. As a player, he was a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers during his entire 11-year career in the National Football League (NFL) from 1987 to 1997. Jones is listed among the top players in franchise history, and helped revolutionize the concept of the pass-catching tight end.
David John Casper nicknamed "the Ghost", is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Casper has been inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame (2012) and the Pro Football Hall of Fame (2002).
Charles Wesley Walls is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons.
Thaddeus John Kwalick is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) and World Football League (WFL). He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1969-1974 and the Oakland Raiders from 1975-1977. In 1975, he also played with the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League. He was an All Pro once, three times selected to the Pro Ball, was All American at Penn State, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
Jerel Jamal Stokes is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins, earning unanimous All-American honors in 1993. A first-round selection in the 1995 NFL draft by the San Francisco 49ers, he played in the NFL for the 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots. He won a Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2003.
Vernon Leonard Davis is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins, earning first-team All-American honors in 2005. Davis was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the sixth overall pick of the 2006 NFL draft. In 2009, he co-led the NFL in touchdown receptions and consequently earned his first of two career Pro Bowl selections.
Justin Morris Peelle is a former American football tight end and coach who is the tight ends coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL).
Marion Earl Cooper is an American former professional football player who was a fullback and tight end in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He played college football for the Rice Owls and was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the 1980 NFL draft with the 13th overall pick.
Kelvin Brian Martin is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 1987 NFL draft. He won Super Bowl XXVII with the Cowboys against the Buffalo Bills, giving him his only Super Bowl title. He played college football for the Boston College Eagles before playing ten seasons in the NFL from 1987 to 1996 for the Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, and Philadelphia Eagles.
Glenn A. Dennison is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and the 1987 Super Bowl—winning Washington Redskins. In 1989, he played for the Amsterdam Crusaders in the Netherlands. He played college football for the Miami Hurricanes and was selected in the second round of the 1984 NFL draft.
McKenna Sean "Bear" Pascoe is a former American football tight end. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL draft. He played college football at Fresno State.
Kyle Daniel Rudolph is an American former professional football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected by the Vikings in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft. He has been selected to two Pro Bowls. He also played for the New York Giants and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Garrett Bartholomew Celek is a former American football tight end who played his entire career for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Michigan State. Celek signed with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent on May 4, 2012. He is the brother of former Philadelphia Eagles tight end Brent Celek.
Kyle Juszczyk is an American professional football fullback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Harvard Crimson, and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft.
Tyler Higbee is an American professional football tight end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Kentucky and was drafted by the Rams in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft.
George Krieger Kittle is an American professional football tight end for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes and was selected by the 49ers in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL draft. He is a five-time Pro Bowler and was a first-team All-Pro in 2019 and 2023.
Jacob Hollister is an American professional football tight end. He played college football at Wyoming. He has been a member of the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, and Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL).
Bennie Jauan Jennings is an American professional football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee and was selected by the 49ers in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL draft.