While at Lafayette, Kirkleski was known as a hard-hitting back. He played all four of his college years as a varsity halfback. During his freshman season, he shocked Lafayette's archrival, Lehigh University, with a touchdown run that gave the Leopards a 13–3 last-minute victory in 1923. Lehigh only scored three points in Kirkleski's four years at Lafayette. In his sophomore year, he helped guide Lafayette to a 7–2 record. He was named the team's captain during his senior year. It was then that he helped the Leopards capture their third national championship with a 9–0 record. He received second and third-team All-American honors from the New York Telegraph and The New York World in 1926.[2] He was later inducted into the school's Maroon Club Hall Of Fame in 2001.
Professional playing careeredit
Pottsville Maroonsedit
After college, Kirkleski played for the Pottsville Maroons of the National Football League (NFL). In his professional debut, Kirkleski threw two touchdown passes to lead the Maroons over the Buffalo Bisons, 22–0. Then on October 16, 1927, he led his team down the field on three passes, where he recovered a fumble, by teammate Tony Latone, in the endzone to give the Maroons a last minute win over the Providence Steam Roller. Kirkleski would haunt Providence again in a rematch on November 24. In that game, he threw a 21-yard pass to Gus Kenneally to give Pottsville a 6–0 victory.
Orange Athletic Clubedit
In 1928, Kirkleski joined the independent Orange Athletic Club from New Jersey. During a game against the NFL's Staten Island Stapletons, he threw for a touchdown and combined, with another quarterback, to throw for 143 yards on 23 passes without an interception, which was an accomplishment in 1928. However Kirkleski gave up a costly interception, in the team's finale against the Stapletons, which was returned for a Staten Island touchdown. That error resulted in a 6—0 Orange loss.[3]
Orange–Newark Tornadoesedit
In 1929, Kirkleski joined the Orange Tornadoes and had one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown that season. When the team was renamed the Newark Tornadoes in 1930, Kirkleski rushed for one touchdown.
Brooklyn Dodgersedit
Kirkleski's final year in professional football, in 1931, was spent with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He only played three games that season and did not register a score for that season.
Kirkleski coach football and baseball at Nutley High School and Woodbridge High School in New Jersey. He was the vice principal at Jefferson High School and principal at Grover Cleveland Junior High School before retiring in 1968.
Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · Pro Football Reference
December 15, 2023
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Frank William Kirkleski May 19 1904 May 6 1980 was an American football player and educator 1 He played during the early years of the National Football League NFL for the Pottsville Maroons Orange Newark Tornadoes and Brooklyn Dodgers Kirkleski played college football at Lafayette College in which he graduated from in 1927 Frank KirkleskiNo 1 32 29Position HalfbackPersonal informationBorn 1904 05 19 May 19 1904Nutley New Jersey U S Died May 6 1980 1980 05 06 aged 75 Point Pleasant New Jersey U S Height 5 ft 11 in 1 80 m Weight 179 lb 81 kg Career informationCollege LafayetteCareer historyAs a player Pottsville Maroons 1927 Orange Athletic Club 1928 Orange Tornadoes 1929 Newark Tornadoes 1930 Brooklyn Dodgers 1931 As a coach Passaic Red Devils 1932 1933 Head coach Wessington Red Devils 1936 Head coach Paterson Panthers 1937 1939 Head coach Hutchinson NAS 1945 Backfield coachCareer highlights and awardsLafayette Maroon Club Hall Of Fame 2001 Nutley High School Athletic Hall of Fame 2008 Player stats at PFR Contents 1 College playing career 2 Professional playing career 2 1 Pottsville Maroons 2 2 Orange Athletic Club 2 3 Orange Newark Tornadoes 2 4 Brooklyn Dodgers 3 Coaching and teaching career 4 Death 5 References 6 External linksCollege playing career editWhile at Lafayette Kirkleski was known as a hard hitting back He played all four of his college years as a varsity halfback During his freshman season he shocked Lafayette s archrival Lehigh University with a touchdown run that gave the Leopards a 13 3 last minute victory in 1923 Lehigh only scored three points in Kirkleski s four years at Lafayette In his sophomore year he helped guide Lafayette to a 7 2 record He was named the team s captain during his senior year It was then that he helped the Leopards capture their third national championship with a 9 0 record He received second and third team All American honors from the New York Telegraph and The New York World in 1926 2 He was later inducted into the school s Maroon Club Hall Of Fame in 2001 Professional playing career editPottsville Maroons edit After college Kirkleski played for the Pottsville Maroons of the National Football League NFL In his professional debut Kirkleski threw two touchdown passes to lead the Maroons over the Buffalo Bisons 22 0 Then on October 16 1927 he led his team down the field on three passes where he recovered a fumble by teammate Tony Latone in the endzone to give the Maroons a last minute win over the Providence Steam Roller Kirkleski would haunt Providence again in a rematch on November 24 In that game he threw a 21 yard pass to Gus Kenneally to give Pottsville a 6 0 victory Orange Athletic Club edit In 1928 Kirkleski joined the independent Orange Athletic Club from New Jersey During a game against the NFL s Staten Island Stapletons he threw for a touchdown and combined with another quarterback to throw for 143 yards on 23 passes without an interception which was an accomplishment in 1928 However Kirkleski gave up a costly interception in the team s finale against the Stapletons which was returned for a Staten Island touchdown That error resulted in a 6 0 Orange loss 3 Orange Newark Tornadoes edit In 1929 Kirkleski joined the Orange Tornadoes and had one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown that season When the team was renamed the Newark Tornadoes in 1930 Kirkleski rushed for one touchdown Brooklyn Dodgers edit Kirkleski s final year in professional football in 1931 was spent with the Brooklyn Dodgers He only played three games that season and did not register a score for that season Coaching and teaching career editKirkleski served as an officer in the United States Navy during World War II He was the backfield coach for the 1945 Hutchinson Naval Air Station Gobs football team 4 Kirkleski coach football and baseball at Nutley High School and Woodbridge High School in New Jersey He was the vice principal at Jefferson High School and principal at Grover Cleveland Junior High School before retiring in 1968 Death editKirkleski died on May 6 1980 at Point Pleasant Hospital in Point Pleasant New Jersey 5 References edit Frank Kirkleski Coaching Record Pro Football Archives Retrieved April 1 2023 Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on August 20 2016 Retrieved February 2 2009 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Archived copy PDF Archived from the original PDF on December 3 2013 Retrieved October 3 2015 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Hutchinson Will Play Football The Wichita Eagle Wichita Kansas September 14 1945 p 14 Retrieved April 1 2023 via Newspapers com nbsp Frank W Kirkleski 1926 All America Asbury Park Press Asbury Park New Jersey May 6 1980 p A19 Retrieved April 1 2023 via Newspapers com nbsp External links editCareer statistics and player information from NFL com Pro Football Reference Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frank Kirkleski amp oldid 1161881541, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
