Frank_Speer

Frank Speer

Frank Speer

American football player and wrestler (1907–1938)

Frank R. Speer (May 27, 1907 – June 10, 1938) was a college football player and wrestler.[1]

Quick Facts Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – No. 48; 12; 17, Position ...

College football

Speer was an All-American tackle for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets of the Georgia Institute of Technology;[2] part of its national championship team of 1928. He first made the All-Southern team as a sophomore in 1927.[3] One writer in 1930 said Vance Maree and Frank Speer had the reputation as "the toughest pair of tackles in the south."[4] Speer is a member of the Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame.[5]

Wrestling

Speer once lost in a wrestling match with Bronko Nagurski due to a kneeing foul.[6] In another wrestling match, he caused former World Heavyweight Champion Jack Dempsey, who was officiating the contest, to knock him out.[7]

On June 1, 1938, Speer became ill but still participated in a wrestling match with Dorv Roche at Atlanta's Warren Arena.[8] Following the match, he developed a fever and was taken to a hospital, where he died June 10 of bronchial pneumonia.[1] He is interred at Atlanta's Hollywood Cemetery.[9]

References

  1. [1]
    "Frank Speer, wrestler, dies of pneumonia". The Chicago Tribune. June 12, 1938. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  2. [2]
    Alan J. Gould (1928-12-08). "Associated Press Gives Views on America's Best Gridders". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  3. [3]
    "Meet the Georgia Tech Varsity". Berkeley Daily Gazette. December 26, 1928.
  4. [4]
    Davis, Ralph (October 10, 1930). "Tech Leader Awaiting Test". The Pittsburgh Press.
  5. [5]
    "Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  6. [6]
    "Speer of Georgia Tech Loses To The Big Nag". The Milwaukee Journal. April 17, 1934.
  7. [7]
    "Dempsey Knocks Out Tech Wrestling Star". The Miami News. October 9, 1934.
  8. [8]
    Wrestlingdata.com - Match Statistics for Frank Speer
  9. [9]
    Frank R. Speer (1907-1938)
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