American football player (born 1953)
American football player
Dennis E. Franklin
(born August 24, 1953) is a former professional
American football
player who was drafted by the
Detroit Lions
of the
National Football League
(NFL) in the
1975 NFL Draft
. Prior to playing for the NFL he played
college football
as a
quarterback
at the
University of Michigan
from 1971 to 1974. He was the starting quarterback for the
Michigan Wolverines
from 1972 to 1974. He was recruited by Michigan after starring for the
Massillon High School
football team in
Ohio
. Franklin is known as Michigan's first
black
quarterback.
High school
[
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]
Before attending the
University of Michigan
, Franklin drew attention as the talented quarterback of the 1970 Massillon High School Tigers football team. With Franklin at quarterback, the Massillon Tigers outscored opponents, 412?29, and
rushed
for nearly 3,000 yards (including 363 yards by Franklin) in one season. Franklin also passed for 699 yards, 21.2 yards per completion and 13
touchdowns
. The team had major college football talent. He ran an offense that played eight future
NCAA Division I
players, including Steve Luke (
Ohio State Buckeyes
), Larry Harper (
Miami Redskins
, now RedHawks), Mike Mauger (
Wisconsin Badgers
,
Kent State Golden Flashes
) and Willie Spencer (
World Football League
). Franklin's older brothers, Walter and Ed, had won state championships with Massillon. In July 2007, he was inducted into the
Stark County
High School Football Hall of Fame.
[1]
College
[
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]
After graduating from Massillon, Franklin wore #9 for the
Michigan Wolverines football
program from 1972 to 1974,
[2]
and he became known as "Michigan's first black quarterback" in
mass media
: "Every time I'd do an interview, they'd throw that tag on me. It became annoying," Franklin said. "Eventually, it went away. That's all I ever strived for."
[1]
Franklin was a member of the Michigan teams coached by
Bo Schembechler
from 1971 to 1974 and was the starting quarterback from 1972 to 1974. Under Franklin’s leadership at quarterback, Michigan tied with Ohio State for three consecutive
Big Ten Conference
titles from 1972 to 1974 and finished with 30 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie. Franklin was a First-team All Big Ten quarterback in 1974 and led the team in passing and total offense every year from 1972 to 1974, becoming the second player at Michigan since
Tom Harmon
to accomplish that feat for three consecutive years.
[3]
Franklin was voted team
captain
in 1974,
[4]
was an Honorable Mention All American and finished sixth in the 1974
Heisman Trophy
balloting.
[5]
Franklin also won the 1974 Meyer Morton award,
[4]
given by the M Club of Chicago for the football player show shows the greatest development and most promise as a result of spring practice and the 1972 John Maulbetsch Award, which is given to the freshman football candidate after spring practice on the basis of desire, character, capacity for leadership and future success both on and off the gridiron.
Franklin is remembered for his role in the classic
1973 Michigan vs. Ohio State football game
. When the teams met, both teams were unbeaten with
Ohio State
ranked No. 1, and Michigan No. 4. Michigan had outscored its opponents 320?58, Ohio State by a margin of 361?33. After an epic struggle, the game ended in a 10?10 tie.
[6]
Ohio State had gone to the
Rose Bowl
the year before,
[7]
which normally would have given Michigan the tie-breaker edge. After some deliberation, the Big Ten athletic directors picked the Buckeyes. There were several explanations including that Franklin
broke his collarbone
in the game,
[
citation needed
]
that the Wolverines failed to win on their home field, and that Ohio State had entered the game as the higher ranked team.
Career passing statistics
[
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]
Season
|
Att
|
Comp
|
TD
|
Comp %
|
Yds
|
Yds/Comp
|
Int
|
Long
|
1972
|
123
|
59
|
6
|
48.0
|
818
|
13.9
|
2
|
52
|
1973
|
67
|
36
|
4
|
53.7
|
534
|
14.8
|
5
|
46
|
1974
|
104
|
58
|
8
|
55.8
|
933
|
16.1
|
5
|
5
|
Career total
|
294
|
153
|
18
|
52.0
|
2285
|
14.9
|
12
|
52
|
Career rushing statistics
[
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]
Season
|
Att
|
Yd+
|
Yd-
|
Net Yd
|
Yd/Att
|
TD
|
Long
|
1972
|
142
|
654
|
157
|
497
|
3.5
|
5
|
29
|
1973
|
101
|
530
|
105
|
425
|
4.2
|
6
|
49
|
1974
|
108
|
425
|
135
|
290
|
2.7
|
5
|
20
|
Career total
|
351
|
1609
|
397
|
1212
|
3.5
|
16
|
49
|
Professional career
[
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]
Drafted by the
Detroit Lions
in the sixth round of the
1975 NFL Draft
, Franklin converted to
wide receiver
for the
1975 NFL season
. While Franklin was with Detroit,
Greg Landry
and
Bill Munson
were the Lions' quarterbacks. Franklin had a brief NFL career that lasted nine games and that totaled six
catches
over two years.
[8]
After retiring from football, Franklin rose to vice president at
King World Productions
in
New York City
, a television distributor that produced
Wheel of Fortune
,
Jeopardy!
, and
Oprah
. He now lives in
Santa Monica, California
, and sells
real estate
.
[1]
Franklin's son Kenny followed his father to Michigan and has aspired toward acting with appearances in
Cosmopolitan
and
S.W.A.T.
.
[1]
See also
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]
References
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]
External links
[
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]