Professional Football Player. For four seasons (1941, 1945 to 1947), he played at the wing-back, defensive-back and fullback positions in the National Football League with the New York Giants. Born George Henning Franck, he attended Central High School (Iowa) and played collegiate football, also participating in track at the University of Minnesota. While with the Golden Gophers, Franck (who possessed exceptional quickness) formed along with halfback and future Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith what is perhaps one of the greatest backfields in collegiate football history. Franck was a key player on Minnesota's squad which achieved a perfect 8 and 0 record, en route to the National Championship Title in 1940; he finished third behind Tom Harmon and John Kimbrough in voting for the Heisman Trophy that year while earning All-Conference and Consensus All-American honors. Selected by the Giants during the 1st round of the 1941 NFL Draft, he appeared in 33 career regular season games. He was a member of the Giants' team which appeared in the 1941 NFL Title Game (defeated by the Chicago Bears 37 to 9), and scored a 31-yard reception touchdown during the contest. The game which was played at Chicago's Wrigley Field on December 21st, and two weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor was of note as a crowd of 13,341 in attendance was the smallest in history to watch an NFL championship game. His career was interrupted while he served with the US Marine Corps as a fighter pilot during World War II; he earned 9 battle stars and saw action in the Pacific Theater including the Battle of Iwo Jima. Upon returning home, he resumed his career and led the NFL in 1947 with an 88-yard reception. After retiring from football, he attained a Masters degree from the University of Oklahoma and served as a teacher and coach for 25-years. He was inducted into the University of Minnesota Hall of Fame in 1995, and was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2002.