Frank Joseph Morze Jr. (''Pronounced:'' MORE-zee) (March 21, 1933 – May 28, 2006) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

offensive lineman in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played in the league for seven seasons for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

and

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Early years

Frank Morze was a native of

Gardner, Massachusetts Gardner is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,287 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Gardner is home of such sites as the Blue Moon D ...

and graduated from

Gardner High School Gardner High School is a public high school in Gardner, Massachusetts. History Gardner High School was established in 1872, with the first graduating class being the Class of 1876. In 1897, a school building was designed by the architecture fir ...

in 1951, where he played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. He went on to attend

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

, where he played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

under

Mike Holovak Michael Joseph Holovak (September 19, 1919 – January 27, 2008) was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football at Boston College, where he was an All-American at fullback in 1942. Holovak was the fifth over ...

from 1951 to 1954. Morze started in all four years, and was given All-East and Catholic All-America honors, as well as being named the team's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

in his final year. He graduated from the school in 1955.

Professional career

Morze was selected in the second round of the

1955 NFL draft The 1955 NFL draft was held January 27–28, 1955 at the Warwick Hotel in New York City. This was the ninth year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery. With the previous eight winners ineligible from the draw, onl ...

by the

as the 21st overall pick. However, due to the military draft he did not join the team until the 1957 season.Dan McGuire (ed.), ''The San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League Present the Shotgun Offense: Press, Radio, Television Information for 1961.'' San Francisco, CA: San Francisco 49ers Football Club, 1961; p. 27. While in the military, Morze spent two years as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

, stationed at

Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( ...

. As a 24-year old rookie in 1957, Morze started every game for the 49ers"Frank Morze Overview,"
Pro Football Reference, www.pro-football-reference.com and helped lead the team to their first NFL playoff appearance in franchise history. It would be Morze's only playoff appearance in his career. He played regularly for the team at the

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

position, until signing with the

for the 1962 season as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

.Art Johnson (ed.), ''San Francisco 49ers: 1964 Press, Radio, and TV Guide.'' San Francisco, CA: San Francisco 49ers Football Club, 1964; p. 25. Morze only saw action in two games in 1962 but appeared all 14 games for the Browns the following year. He would rejoin the 49ers for the 1964 season under Hickey again, but then retired.

Life after football

In 1981, Morze moved to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

with his wife, Nancy, and three children: David, Michael, and Suzanne. Morze started his own

metal fabrication Metal fabrication is the creation of metal structures by cutting, bending and assembling processes. It is a value-added process involving the creation of machines, parts, and structures from various raw materials. Typically, a fabrication shop ...

business in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

called Silver State Steel. In 1996, Morze was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame. Morze died in Nevada in 2006 after battling with

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

References

External links

Boston College bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morze, Frank 1933 births 2006 deaths Sportspeople from Gardner, Massachusetts Players of American football from Worcester County, Massachusetts United States Marines American football offensive linemen Boston College Eagles football players San Francisco 49ers players Cleveland Browns players

Early years

Professional career

Life after football

See also

References

External links