Russ Francis

Russell Ross Francis (born April 3, 1953), is a former professional football player who was drafted by the New England Patriots in the 1st round (16th pick) of the 1975 NFL Draft. He grew up in Hawaii. A 6'6", 242 lbs. tight end from the University of Oregon, Francis played in 13 NFL seasons. He retired temporarily in 1981, then played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1982 to 1986. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. Francis finished his career with 393 receptions for 5,262 yards and 40 touchdowns.

Early life
During his high school years at Kailua High School, Kailua, O'ahu, Hawai'i, and Pleasant Hill High School (Oregon) in Oregon, he set the national high school record for the javelin in 1971 at 259 feet, 9 inches; the record stood until 1988. Francis was also a decathlete for Peasant Hill.

New England Patriots (1975–1980)
During the Patriots 30–27 win over the Steelers on September 26, 1976, Francis caught a 38 yard touchdown pass from Steve Grogan, on 4th & 2. 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".

He also had a career longest 53 yard reception and 126 yards receiving in the Patriots 21-14 win over the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland Coliseum on September 24, 1978. That year, Russ led the Patriots in receptions in 1978 with 39 catches for 543 yards.

During his span with the Patriots, Russ was the first Patriot tight end with three career receptions on fourth down plays. Francis is the only Patriot player with three receptions from a pass thrown by a wide receiver. Francis was a three-time Pro Bowl selection from 1977–1979.

Following the 1980 NFL season, Francis retired from professional football. Two things that Francis has said contributed greatly to this decision were, one, when the Patriots refused to give him his promised bonus for making the Pro Bowl (because his injury from a motorcycle accident kept him out of the game); and, secondly, when his roommate, Darryl Stingley, was paralyzed by a Jack Tatum hit, the Patriots tried to cancel Stingley's medical insurance. Francis was the first Patriot player at Stingley's side immediately after the hit. Francis has said it was tough to play after that.

San Francisco 49ers (1982–1987)
After leaving the Patriots, Francis got a job with ABC Sports. While in Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, Francis interviewed Bill Walsh, the 49ers head coach. Walsh told him this was the only time in his life he would be able to play football, and that he would never get these years back and should not turn his back on this chance. Francis came out of retirement, after sitting out the 1981 season, joined the 49ers and eventually won a Super Bowl ring as a member of the 1984 49er team. Francis played a key role in San Francisco's win over the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX with 5 catches for 60 yards. In 1985, Francis had a career-high 44 receptions.

New England Patriots (1987–1988)
After being waived by the 49ers during the 1987 season, Francis signed with his old team, the Patriots, before the season's final game. His second tenure in New England was less successful than his first, however, and he played just one more season. Francis spent 1989 injured before being waived and retiring.

Superstars, Professional wrestling career; retirement
Francis qualified for The Superstars final and the World Superstars in 1980 and 1981, finishing second in the 1980 final and fourth in 1981. He won the football preliminary in 1981 and set a record of 23.91 seconds in the 50 yard swimming event. The record stood until 1986 when it was broken by Greg Louganis.

Francis appeared in a twenty-man battle royal at WrestleMania 2 along with other NFL stars. He is the son of wrestling promoter Ed Francis. He briefly competed full-time in the American Wrestling Association after retiring from football. He also competed in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hawaii where he held the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship one time with his older brother, Billy Roy Francis.

After retiring, he hosted The Russ Francis Show from 8 AM to 12 PM on 107.7 WTPL "The Pulse", out of Concord, New Hampshire.