September 23, 1918 – George “Sonny” Franck was a former halfback from the University of Minnesota.
Photographer uncredited.
Published in Walter Collier (ed.), Redskin Review: The Redskins vs. New York Giants, Griffith Stadium, Washington, DC, Oct. 12, 1947; p. 23.
The 1940 Golden Gopher offensive weapons of Sonny, along with College Football Hall of Fame inductee Bruce Smith and All-American fullback Bill Daley, were a part of a backfield trio that is considered to be one of the best in college football history. These great players were in a single-wing offense, and Franck was the most versatile of the bunch and perfect as the key playmaker in the offensive system, and had the speed and football smarts to be extremely valuable.
Franck ran, passed the ball in the offense, and also kicked and returned kicks, while playing defense. His athletic speed was evident not only on the gridiron but also on the Minnesota track team, as he was the Big 10 Champion in the 60-yard dash and was clocked running the 100-yard dash in 9.6 seconds.
The 1940 Gophers football team took all of the assembled talent and won the National Championship. Sonny Franck was voted as a consensus All-American and placed third in the Heisman voting behind two other College Hall of Famers, Tom Harmon and John Kimbrough. The National Football Foundation selected George Franck to enter the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002. George Franck won the MVP honor in the 1941 Chicago College All-Star Game (teammate Bruce Smith won it the following year) and then played in the NFL for the New York Giants until Uncle Sam called him to be a fighter pilot in World War II. As a U.S. pilot, he earned nine battle stars in the theatre of the South Pacific.
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