David Lee Francis is a former 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...

 fullback

Fullback (American football)

A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

 for the Ohio State

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

 Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeyes football

The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...

 from 1960 to 1962. Highly recruited nationally as a fullback prospect from Columbus West High School

West High School (Columbus, Ohio)

West High School is a public high school located on the west side of Columbus, Ohio. It is a part of Columbus City Schools. The original building opened in 1908.The school colors are buff and brown. The school nickname is the Cowboys.-Athletics:...

, Francis chose to attend his hometown university after being recruited by Woody Hayes

Woody Hayes

Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University , Miami University , and Ohio State University , compiling a career college football record of 238–72–10.During his 28 seasons as the head coach of the Ohio...

.

Playing behind College Hall of Famer

College Football Hall of Fame

The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...

 Bob Ferguson

Bob Ferguson (American football)

Robert E. "Bob" Ferguson was an American football running back and member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He is considered by many to be the greatest fullback in the history of the Ohio State University Buckeyes.Ferguson attended Troy High School in Troy, Ohio.Ferguson's first year of...

 for two years, and a backfield that included future Pro Football Hall of Fame

Pro Football Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...

r Paul Warfield

Paul Warfield

Paul Dryden Warfield is a former professional American football wide receiver in the 1960s and 1970s known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, jumping ability and hands.- Football career :...

 and future American Football League

American Football League

The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 legend Matt Snell

Matt Snell

Matt Snell was the American Football League's New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin's first coup, prior to his 1965 acquisition of Joe Namath...

 (AFL), Francis did not break into the starting lineup until his senior year. That year, Ohio State started out as the preseason AP #1 team in the country. Although close losses to UCLA

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

 and Northwestern

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

 derailed Ohio State's national championship hopes that season, Francis—in a backfield that still included Paul Warfield—led the team in rushing, averaging over 5 yds/carry. In 1962, David was the Big Ten rushing champion (5.2 yds per carry).

Francis' greatest achievement as an Ohio State football player was saved for his last game against arch-rival Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. Until the 2007 season, his 186 yard, two touchdown performance was the most yards gained by an Ohio State running back against Michigan.(Beanie Wells) Most noteworthy about that performance, is that Francis, under complete exhaustion, collapsed untouched near the goal line in an open field run before he could tally his third touchdown.

Drafted

NFL Draft

The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...

 by the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

, Francis played one year 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...

 before his career was ended by injury.

David is married to Polly Francis and lives in Fairview, Texas. David has two sons and two stepsons.