![]() Speer c. 1929 | |
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – No. 48; 12; 17 | |
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Position | Tackle |
Class | 1930 |
Personal information | |
Born: | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | May 27, 1907
Died: | June 10, 1938 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | (aged 31)
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
Career history | |
College | Georgia Tech (1927-28; 1930) |
Bowl games | |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Frank R. Speer (May 27, 1907 – June 10, 1938) was a college football player and wrestler. [1]
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]
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]