Frank Gifford

Lore & Background

Gifford won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award from UPI in 1956, the same season the Giants won the NFL Championship. He participated in five league championship games and was named to eight Pro Bowls. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977. After retiring, he became an Emmy Award-winning sportscaster for ABC's Monday Night Football, Wide World of Sports, and the Olympics.

In Their Own Story

The air in Municipal Stadium was crisp on that autumn afternoon, the crowd buzzing with anticipation not just for the game, but for the man stepping onto the field. Frank Gifford, wearing the number 16 jersey of the Browns, looked every bit the movie star he had become off the gridiron. As he lined up against a defensive back from the Detroit Lions, the camera flashed, capturing the moment a legend donned Cleveland's colors for perhaps the last time in his career.

Reader's Guide

Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, and graduated from Kern County Union High School. He played a season at Bakersfield Junior College before attending USC, where he was named an All-American. He was married to television host Kathie Lee Gifford from 1986 until his death.

Did You Know?

• Gifford lost 18 months of his career after a severe concussion from a hit by Chuck Bednarik in 1960, but returned in 1962 as a flanker.
• He threw 14 touchdown passes, though the record for most touchdown passes by a non-quarterback is held by Walter Payton with 8.
• An autopsy after his death revealed he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).