Sam Francis

Sam Francis was a shot putter who was NCAA champion in 1937 for the University of Nebraska, but he was better known as a football player. He was a running back for the Cornhuskers and in 1936 was runner-up in voting for the Heisman Trophy. Francis was a first round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles and played for four years in the NFL, but never for the Eagles, as they quickly traded him to the Chicago Bears. Francis later played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Brooklyn Dodgers.

His career was interrupted by World War II, and Francis then served in the Army until 1966, retiring with the rank of colonel. He also spent one year as head football coach at Kansas State in 1947. In 2020, Francis was inducted, finally, into the Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame.

Personal Bests: SP – 16.30 (53-6) (1937).