Frank Gatski 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...

 player.

Gatski was born on March 18, 1919 in Farmington, West Virginia

Farmington, West Virginia

Farmington is a town in Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 387 at the 2000 census. It is best known for being the site of the 1968 Farmington Mine disaster.-Geography:...

.

Gatski attended Marshall University

Marshall University

Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....

 and Auburn University

Auburn University

Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...

 and played as a center

Center (American football)

Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...

 and linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

. In the 1940s and 1950s he played center for the NFL teams Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 (1946–56) and Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

 (1957). In 12 seasons, Gatski's teams played for the league title 11 times.

After his playing career, he was a scout for the Boston Patriots and coach for the West Virginia Industrial School for Boys from 1961 to 1982.

He was elected to the 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...

 in 1985, in a class that included Joe Namath

Joe Namath

Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...

, Pete Rozelle

Pete Rozelle

Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world....

, O.J. Simpson, and Roger Staubach

Roger Staubach

Roger Thomas Staubach is a businessman, Heisman Trophy winner and legendary Hall of Fame former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys from 1969 until 1979. Staubach was instrumental in developing the Cowboys into becoming one of the best teams of the 1970s and led the team to nine of the Cowboys'...

.

Marshall University retired Gatski's number, #72, on October 15, 2005 during their homecoming game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham

University of Alabama at Birmingham

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is a public university in Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Developing from an extension center established in 1936, the institution became an autonomous institution in 1969 and is today one of three institutions in the University of Alabama System...

, the first Marshall football player to be so honored.

Gatski died on November 22, 2005 in Morgantown, West Virginia

Morgantown, West Virginia

Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area...

.

On November 18, 2006 in Huntington, WV, the East End Bridge was renamed the Frank Gatski Memorial Bridge during halftime of the Marshall

Marshall University

Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....

-UTEP football game.