First, can you tell me a bit about what you did after football?
Well, when I got cut from Pittsburgh I moved to Connecticut. One of the coaches from Pittsburgh went on to coach the Connecticut team in the Continental League and talked me in to coming up and playing for them.
I did pretty well there – I was the MVP there for three of the four seasons there. I ended up settling in Connecticut. I was from Pittsburgh originally. But I liked Connecticut. I had two kids – a son and a daughter.
Why did you stop playing?
In 1970 I hurt my knee and had it operated on. That put me into retirement. I had to quit playing after that. I started working as an iron worker after that, believe it or not. The former owner of the Hartford Knights got me into the union there and I worked for 22 years as an ironworker. I also worked part-time as a cop as well – I did that for 20 years.
After that I started my own limo business – I owned two cars and was doing well. But in 2013 I got kidney cancer – while I was laid up I couldn’t renew my driver’s license – that caused me to lose my business and my cars. My wife passed away that year too – 2013 was a bad year for me.
How did the Steelers find you in the first place – you never played in college right?
I signed with them when I got out of the service. I played for the service in England – they asked if I had played football before and if I’d play for the team there. I said “Yeah” even though I never played football before. I guess I didn’t want to sound like a jerk by saying no. I was kind of a big guy – 235 pounds. I did pretty good – I was a defensive lineman and was pretty fast for my size.
My coach there in England got out of the service around the same time I did. He got out a couple weeks after I did and went to coach at Colorado State. He told me he’d get me a scholarship there. While I was waiting the Pittsburgh Ironmen called and wanted to sign me. I got tired of waiting for the coach to call me so I signed with the Ironmen. The coach called me after that to tell me he wanted to offer me the scholarship but I had already signed a contract with the Ironmen and got paid, so I wasn’t allowed to accept the scholarship anymore.
How did you end up on the Steelers after the Ironmen?
It was funny. One of the sportswriters in Pittsburgh came up to me and told me the Steelers wanted to sign me but weren’t going to come out and approach me. He told me they had a contract waiting for me if I went to see them. So I got dressed up and went to their office and sure enough they had a contract for me – $9,500!
The next season I asked for a $3,000 raise but the Rooneys said no. That’s when I got on bad terms with Dan Rooney. They were cheap then – they didn’t pay players a lot and when it came to getting a new contract we just didn’t agree on terms. I think that’s why they cut me so early. They just didn’t want to pay anybody then.
What did you learn from those guys you played with?
I learned how to play defensive end from John Baker and Ben McGee. John was a huge guy and he and Ben showed me how to use the head slap. I got very good at it. My coach in Connecticut used to yell at me from the sidelines during games “Roll his head over to me Fran!” That’s how hard I head-slapped guys – I’d knock their helmets off.
Any good memories stand out to you from your playing days?
One funny story is when Dallas called my mother to get me to sign with them. I was playing in Connecticut and they wanted to sign me on that Thursday to come in and play right away. Well, my mother didn’t tell me until Saturday. By the time I was able to call Dallas back they had signed someone else – Larry Cole. I’ll never forget that. What can you do – it’s your mother! I think she didn’t want me to play football – she was afraid I’d get hurt. But I was the one hurting people!
Any other memories of those Steelers days?
I came in to take over for Ernie Stautner when he left to coach in Dallas. I think that’s why they called me actually – they knew of me through Ernie.
I had a good time in Pittsburgh. I was close with Myron Pottios – he became one of my best friends. I also remember sneaking out of my room in Connecticut to hang out with the girls there! We had the coaches rounds figured out and snuck out when they left!
One of the coaches that worked for Buddy Parker went on to Detroit. He actually called me later on and asked why I didn’t call him when I was cut – he would have signed me in Detroit. I just didn’t know he was there – Detroit wasn’t one of the teams I called when I was cut. I think it was just too cold there!
I also hung out with Bob Solo and Bob Stohr in Pittsburgh – and big John Baker. We went out drinking sometimes and had fun together. John was the one that put Y.A. Tittle out of football, if you remember.
Do you watch football now – any teams you follow?
I follow Tampa Bay now – because of Tom Brady. I loved Tom in New England.
I think they made the game harder now for defensive ends since they don’t allow them to head slap any more. I think that messed up what defensive linemen can do now! I used to have so much success I’d get tired of hitting quarterbacks….
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