Dennis Franklin
Encyclopedia
Dennis Franklin 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 in the NFL he played quarterback
of the University of Michigan
Wolverines
from 1971-1974. He served as the starting quarterback from 1972-1974. 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.
, 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 touchdown
s. The team was blessed with major college football talent. He ran an offense that played eight future Division I college 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.
After graduating from Massillon, Franklin wore #9 for the Michigan Wolverines football
program from 1972 to 1974, 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."
He was a member of the Michigan teams coached by Bo Schembechler
from 1971–1974 and was the starting quarterback from 1972-1974. Under Franklin’s leadership at quarterback, Michigan tied with Ohio State for three consecutive Big Ten
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.
Franklin was voted team captain
in 1974, was an Honorable Mention All American and finished sixth in the 1974 Heisman Trophy
balloting. Franklin also won the 1974 Meyer Morton award, 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. Ohio State had gone to the Rose Bowl the year before, 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, that the Wolverines failed to win on their home field, and that Ohio State had entered the game as the higher ranked team.
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.
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
. Franklin's son Kenny followed his father to Michigan and has aspired toward acting with appearances in Cosmopolitan
and S.W.A.T.
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who was drafted by the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL) in the 1975 NFL Draft
1975 NFL Draft
The 1975 National Football League Draft was held on January 28–29, 1975.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
. Prior to playing for in the NFL he played quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
of the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 27 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's ice hockey which competes in the NCAA D1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and women's water polo, which...
from 1971-1974. He served as the starting quarterback from 1972-1974. He was recruited by Michigan after starring for the Massillon High School
Massillon Washington High School
Massillon Washington High School, is a 9 to 12 grade secondary school within the Massillon City School District located in the city of Massillon, Ohio. It serves students within the city of Massillon as well as parts of Tuscarawas Township...
football team in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Franklin is known as Michigan’s first black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
quarterback.
High school
Before attending the University of MichiganUniversity of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of 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
Rush (American football)
Rushing has two different meanings in gridiron football .-Offense:The first is an action taken by the offensive team that means to advance the ball by running, as opposed to passing. A run is technically any play that does not involve a forward pass...
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 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s. The team was blessed with major college football talent. He ran an offense that played eight future Division I college players including Steve Luke (Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...
), Larry Harper (Miami Redskins
Miami RedHawks football
The Miami University RedHawks, known as the Miami Redskins before 1996, are a NCAA Division I FBS college football program that competes in the Mid-American Conference...
, now RedHawks), Mike Mauger (Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
, Kent State Golden Flashes
Kent State Golden Flashes
Kent State University's intercollegiate athletic teams are known as the Golden Flashes or simply as the Flashes. The university fields sixteen varsity athletic teams, all of whom play in the Mid-American Conference and in the NCAA's Division I...
) and Willie Spencer (World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
). Franklin's older brothers, Walter and Ed, had won state championships with Massillon. In July 2007, he was inducted into the Stark County
Stark County, Ohio
Stark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 375,586. It is included in the Canton-Massillon, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area....
High School Football Hall of Fame.
College
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
program from 1972 to 1974, and he became known as "Michigan's first black quarterback" in mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
: "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."
He was a member of the Michigan teams coached by Bo Schembechler
Bo Schembechler
Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler, Jr. was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of Michigan from 1969 to 1989, compiling a career record of 234–65–8...
from 1971–1974 and was the starting quarterback from 1972-1974. Under Franklin’s leadership at quarterback, Michigan tied with Ohio State for three consecutive Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
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
Tom Harmon
Thomas Dudley Harmon was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors...
to accomplish that feat for three consecutive years.
Franklin was voted team captain
Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
in 1974, was an Honorable Mention All American and finished sixth in the 1974 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
balloting. Franklin also won the 1974 Meyer Morton award, 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
1973 Michigan vs. Ohio State football game
The 1973 edition to the Michigan-Ohio State Rivalry, was one of the most controversial games in NCAA history. In this game, both teams were undefeated, with Ohio State ranked 1st, and Michigan ranked 4th...
. When the teams met, both teams were unbeaten with Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the 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. Ohio State had gone to the Rose Bowl the year before, 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
Clavicle fracture
A clavicle fracture is a bone fracture in the clavicle, or collarbone. It is often caused by a fall onto an outstretched upper extremity, a fall onto a shoulder, or a direct blow to the clavicle...
in the game, 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
| Season | Att | Comp | Int | Comp % | Yds | Yds/Comp | TD | Long |
| 1972 | 123 | 59 | 2 | 48.0 | 818 | 13.9 | 6 | 52 |
| 1973 | 67 | 36 | 5 | 53.7 | 534 | 14.8 | 4 | 46 |
| 1974 | 104 | 58 | 5 | 55.8 | 933 | 16.1 | 8 | 5 |
| Career total | 294 | 153 | 12 | 52.0 | 2285 | 14.9 | 18 | 52 |
Career rushing statistics
| 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
Drafted by the Detroit LionsDetroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
in the sixth round of the 1975 NFL Draft
1975 NFL Draft
The 1975 National Football League Draft was held on January 28–29, 1975.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
, Franklin converted to wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
for the 1975 NFL season
1975 NFL season
The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League. It was also the first time that featured an entire season with no games ending in a tie. The league made two significant changes to increase the appeal of the game:...
. While Franklin was with Detroit, Greg Landry
Greg Landry
Gregory Paul Landry is a former American football player and coach who played quarterback in the National Football League from 1968 to 1981 and again in 1984...
and Bill Munson
Bill Munson
William Alan Munson was a professional American football quarterback who played in 16 NFL seasons from 1964 through 1979 for five different teams. He was 6'2" and weighed 203 lbs. He was best known for his years as a starter for the Detroit Lions in the mid-1970s...
were the Lions' quarterbacks. Franklin had a brief NFL career that lasted nine games and that totaled six catches
Reception (American football)
In American football, a reception is part of a play in which a forward pass from behind the line of scrimmage is received by a player in bounds, who, after the catch, proceeds to either score a touchdown or be downed. Yards gained from the receiving play are credited to the player as receiving...
over two years.
After retiring from football, Franklin rose to vice president at King World Productions
King World Productions
King World Productions, Inc. was a production company and a syndicator of television programming in the United States until its eventual 2007 incorporation into CBS Television Distribution...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, a television distributor that produced Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, and Oprah
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
. He now lives in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
and sells real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
. Franklin's son Kenny followed his father to Michigan and has aspired toward acting with appearances in Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (film)
Cosmopolitan is a 2003 American independent film starring Roshan Seth and Carol Kane, and directed by Nisha Ganatra. The film, based on an acclaimed short story by Akhil Sharma and written by screenwriter Sabrina Dhawan , is a cross-cultural romance between a confused and lonely middle-aged East...
and S.W.A.T.
S.W.A.T. (film)
S.W.A.T. is a 2003 action-crime film directed by Clark Johnson, and is based on the 1975 television series of the same name. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Colin Farrell, LL Cool J and Michelle Rodriguez. It was produced by Neal H...
.
See also
- Lists of Michigan Wolverines football passing leaders
- Lists of Michigan Wolverines football rushing leaders