Joe Francis (American football)

Joe Francis
Date of birth: April 21, 1936 (1936-04-21) (age 75)
Place of birth: Honolulu, Hawaii
Career information
Position(s): Quarterback
College: Oregon State
NFL Draft: 1958 / Round: 5/ Pick 51
Organizations
 As player:
1958-1959
1961-1962
Green Bay Packers
Montreal Alouettes
Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Joseph Charles Alexander Francis (born April 21, 1936 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is a former gridiron football quarterback.

Contents

High school career

Francis attended Kamehameha Schools in Honolulu, Hawaii and starred in football.

College career

Francis attended Oregon State, where he played quarterback from 1954 to 1957 for Kip Taylor and then for Tommy Prothro. He led Oregon State to the 1957 Rose Bowl in his junior season, where they lost to Iowa 35-19. Francis had 207 yards of total offense in the game.[1]

Francis was name the team MVP for the 1956 and 1957 seasons.[1]

Professional career

Francis was drafted in the fifth round of the 1953 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. Francis played two seasons in the National Football League for the Packers as Bart Starr's backup under the legendary Vince Lombardi.

Francis also played two seasons in the Canadian Football League with the Montreal Alouettes from 1961-1962.[2]

Personal life

Upon retiring from the NFL, Francis returned to Hawaii to become a Physical Education teacher and football coach at Pearl City High School. He retired in 2001.[1]

Francis has three sons from his first wife and three sons and a daughter from his second wife, Kuulei. He is currently married to Rolenda Ku'ulei Alama-Francis and has three sons(Joseph "Aina" Jr., Kaohe, and Ikaika) and daughter (Makana) with her.

Joe's son Jon Francis, played running back for the Los Angeles Rams.

Ikaika Alama-Francis, Joe's youngest son, was a defensive end for the University of Hawai'i and graduated in 2006. Ikaika was drafted in 2007 as a defensive end by the Detroit Lions and is currently a linebacker for the Miami Dolphins.

References

External links