Thomas Anthony Franckhauser (May 26, 1937 – April 17, 1997) was an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 cornerback

Cornerback

A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 for the Los Angeles Rams

History of the St. Louis Rams

The following is a detailed history of the St. Louis Rams a professional American football team and member of the National Football League .-AFL Cleveland Rams :...

, the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

, and the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

. He played college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at Purdue University

Purdue University

Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...

.

Known as "Knute", Tom was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft

1960 NFL Expansion Draft

The 1960 NFL Expansion Draft was a National Football League draft in which a new expansion team, named the Dallas Cowboys, selected its first players. The NFL awarded Dallas, Texas a franchise to compete for revenue with Lamar Hunt's Dallas Texans of the upstart American Football League...

. He became the first player in Dallas Cowboys history to carry

Carry (American football)

In American football, a carry is a statistical term equivalent to a single rushing play. The term is typically used in reference to "yards per carry," meaning yards per attempt rushing the ball. Any offensive player who performs a carry is known as a ballcarrier, regardless of position....

 the football during a regular season game as he returned the opening kickoff

Kickoff (American football)

A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...

 in their inaugural regular season game.

Knute was born in Steubenville, Ohio

Steubenville, Ohio

Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, and played high school football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

 there at Catholic Central High

Steubenville Catholic Central High School

Catholic Central High School is a Catholic High School, located in Steubenville, Ohio, at 320 West View Avenue. Catholic Central is operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Steubenville.-History:...

, just a few years before his first cousin, Danny Abramowicz. Ambramowicz played his college football at Xavier University in Cincinnati and professionally as an original New Orleans Saint

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

 and ended his career with the San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

.

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