Russell Ross Francis (April 3, 1953 – October 1, 2023) was an American professional

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 ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for 13 seasons 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 for the New England Patriots and

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 ...

. He was also a professional wrestler. Francis finished his NFL career with 393 receptions for 5,262 yards and 40

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. In 2021, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Francis to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2021.

Early life and career

Francis began high school at Kailua High School on

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, and finished at Pleasant Hill High School in Oregon, southeast of Eugene. He set the national high school record for the

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

as a senior in 1971 at ; the record stood until 1988. Francis was also a decathlete for Pleasant Hill.

College career

At the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in Eugene, Francis threw the javelin and played only 14 games of varsity football for the Ducks. Injured after three games as a sophomore in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, he played in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, but sat out his senior season in 1974. Francis enrolled at rival

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

in order to expire his collegiate eligibility and be eligible for the 1975 NFL draft. Briefly a pro wrestler, he trained for the '' Superstars'' competition and was selected in the first round by the New England Patriots, the 16th overall pick and signed in May.

Professional career

New England Patriots (1975–1980)

During the Patriots 30–27 win in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

over the two-time defending Super Bowl champion

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

on September 26, Francis caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Steve Grogan on fourth and one. In that same game, Francis had a career-best 139 yards receiving. As a result, Howard Cosell proclaimed him as the "All-World Tight End". In

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, Francis had a career-longest 53-yard reception and 126 yards receiving in the Patriots win over the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

at the Oakland Coliseum on September 24. That season, he led the Patriots in receptions with 39 catches for 543 yards. Francis was a

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

selection for three consecutive seasons ( 1977–

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

). Following the 1980 season, Francis opted to retire from professional football after the Patriots refused to give him his promised bonus for making the Pro Bowl that he missed due to injury, and when the team tried to cancel Darryl Stingley's medical insurance after he was paralyzed by a Jack Tatum hit two years earlier. Francis, who was roommates with Stingley, said that it was tough to play after Stingley's injury.

San Francisco 49ers (1982–1987)

After sitting out the season, Francis came out of retirement and joined the 49ers for the 1982 season. In the 49ers' win over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX, he had five receptions for 60 yards. In 1985, he had a career-high 44 receptions.

New England Patriots (1987–1988)

Francis was released by the 49ers in 1987 and rejoined the Patriots before the season's final game. He was on the roster in 1988 but after missing the 1989 season due to injury and then being released, he retired for the second time.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

Professional Wrestling career

He was the son of wrestling promoter Ed Francis and got into wrestling in 1974 in Vancouver. He briefly competed full-time in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) from 1976 to 1977. He also competed in the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

's NWA Hawaii from 1977 to 1978 where at one time he held the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship with his older brother, Billy Roy Francis. In 1978, he left wrestling and continued playing football. Francis appeared in a 20-man

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

at WrestleMania 2 along with other NFL stars. In 1987, he returned to AWA for a few matches and then retired.

Outside football

Francis qualified for The Superstars final and the World Superstars in 1980 and 1981, finishing second in the 1980 final and third in the 1981 event. He won the football preliminary in 1981 and set a record of 23.91 seconds in the swimming event. That record stood until 1986, when it was broken by Greg Louganis. After retiring, he hosted ''The Russ Francis Show'' from 9 am to noon on 107.7 WTPL "The Pulse", out of Concord, New Hampshire, and later he hosted ''Forever West Outdoors'' from 4 to 6 pm on 1400 AM KODI, out of Cody, Wyoming. In 2015, he was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame as a contributor. Francis was also the president of Lake Placid Airways, a scenic and charter-flight airline.

Politics

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, Francis challenged long-time Democratic incumbent Patsy Mink for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district. Running as a Republican, Francis was defeated, winning 35.97% of the vote to Mink's 61.59%.

Death

On October 1, 2023, Francis and AOPA Air Safety Institute vice president Richard McSpadden were both killed in a plane crash in

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, Essex County, New York (state), New York, United States. In 2020, its population was 2,205. The village of Lake Placid ...

, after the 1976 Cessna 177 flown by Francis out of Lake Placid Airport experienced power failure and attempted to return to the airport, but struck a

berm A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier (usually made of Soil compaction, compacted soil) separating areas in a vertical way, especially partway up a long slope. It can serve as a terrace road, track, path, a fortification line, a b ...

on the runway and crashed into a ravine. Francis was 70 years old.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Russ 1953 births 2023 deaths American Conference Pro Bowl players American football tight ends College football announcers New England Patriots players Oregon Ducks football players Oregon Ducks men's track and field athletes People from Pleasant Hill, Oregon San Francisco 49ers players Players of American football from Hawaii Players of American football from Oregon NFL replacement players Oregon State University alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2023 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in New York (state) American male javelin throwers American male decathletes Professional wrestlers from Washington (state) American male professional wrestlers 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers Pacific Islander American players of American football 20th-century American sportsmen