Frank Speer

Frank R. Speer (May 27, 1907 – June 10, 1938) was a college football player and wrestler.[1]

Frank Speer
Speer c. 1929
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – No. 48; 12; 17
PositionTackle
Class1930
Career history
CollegeGeorgia Tech (1927-28; 1930)
Bowl games
Personal information
Born:(1907-05-27)May 27, 1907
Atlanta, Georgia
Died:June 10, 1938(1938-06-10) (aged 31)
Atlanta, Georgia
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight205 lb (93 kg)
Career highlights and awards

College football

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]

Wrestling

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]

References
  1. "Frank Speer, wrestler, dies of pneumonia". The Chicago Tribune. June 12, 1938. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  2. Alan J. Gould (1928-12-08). "Associated Press Gives Views on America's Best Gridders". The Salt Lake Tribune.
  3. "Meet the Georgia Tech Varsity". Berkeley Daily Gazette. December 26, 1928.
  4. Davis, Ralph (October 10, 1930). "Tech Leader Awaiting Test". The Pittsburgh Press.
  5. "Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
  6. "Speer of Georgia Tech Loses To The Big Nag". The Milwaukee Journal. April 17, 1934.
  7. "Dempsey Knocks Out Tech Wrestling Star". The Miami News. October 9, 1934.
  8. Wrestlingdata.com - Match Statistics for Frank Speer
  9. Frank R. Speer (1907-1938)
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