Frank Preston LeMaster (March 12, 1952 – March 23, 2023) was an American professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
linebacker who played nine seasons in the
National Football League (NFL) for the
Philadelphia Eagles. A native of
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
, he played four years of
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
for the
Kentucky Wildcats and was selected by the Eagles in the fourth round of the
1974 NFL Draft
The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks.
Many experts consider the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers to have h ...
. He was a key member of Philadelphia's defense for several years, and along with
Bill Bergey and
John Bunting, led one of the best 1970s linebacking corps in the league. He helped them reach
Super Bowl XV
Super Bowl XV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
in 1980 and was selected to his first and only
Pro Bowl the following season. However, he missed 1983 due to injury and was traded to the
San Francisco 49ers in 1984. He was unable to make the final roster of the 49ers and retired afterwards.
Early life and education
LeMaster was born on March 12, 1952, in
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
.
He attended
Bryan Station High School
Bryan Station High School, founded in 1958, is a high school within the Fayette County Public Schools system in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. During the 2006–2007 school year, students were moved to their newly built school known as Brya ...
where he played
fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to:
Sports
* A position in various kinds of football, including:
** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position
** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...
for the football team. Despite seeing major action only in his last two seasons, he compiled 40 touchdowns, 3,000 yards, and helped the team reach the Class AA state finals.
[ ] After graduating, LeMaster played four seasons of
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
for the
Kentucky Wildcats from 1970 to 1973.
He spent his
freshman
A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions.
Ara ...
year at fullback before changing to
halfback as a
sophomore
In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...
.
He started the first two games of 1971 at halfback, but only was given the ball 10 times, averaging four yards-per-carry.
LeMaster's coach then shifted him to being a reserve, and after playing three games in that role, was changed to being a
tight end; he spent some time in that position, recording one
reception for eight yards, but was then asked to play
linebacker. He was then asked to return to being a halfback, before finally becoming a linebacker; all of these moves occurred during his sophomore year, although during this entire period (with the exception of his two starts at halfback) he only played on
special teams.
Through the first five games of the 1972 season, LeMaster, remaining an
inside linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
, was the leading
tackler on the team.
However, after a loss to
North Carolina, he was benched, with the coaching staff blaming him for poor defense.
He was asked to switch to
outside linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
, but refused, and spent the rest of the year on the bench.
He was a starter as a
senior
Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to:
* Senior (name), a surname ...
, but no NFL teams showed interest in him during the season.
[ ] However, he was named
All-American at the end of the year. He was also invited through the efforts of Kentucky assistant Buckshot Underwood to several all-star games, including the
Blue–Gray Football Classic, at which he served as a team captain.
His performance there led to him receiving interest from NFL scouts.
Professional career
LeMaster was selected by the
Philadelphia Eagles in the fourth round (89th overall) of the
1974 NFL Draft
The 1974 NFL draft took place at the Americana Hotel in New York City, New York, on January 29–30, 1974. Each of the 26 NFL teams were granted 17 selections for a total of 442 picks.
Many experts consider the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers to have h ...
. He was also selected in the
1974 WFL Draft
The 1974 WFL Draft was the first collegiate draft of the World Football League (WFL). The first 6 rounds took place on January 4, at the JW Marriott Essex House in New York. The final thirty rounds were postponed until February 5.
On March 18, 19 ...
, but remained with Philadelphia.
As a rookie, he started all four preseason games and ended up making the team as the second-string left linebacker, behind
Steve Zabel
Steven Gregory Zabel (born March 20, 1948) is a former American football linebacker and tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football at the University of Oklahoma, he was the first pick (six overall) ...
. He appeared in every game that year and became the starter the following year after Zabel was traded; LeMaster went on to be one of the anchors of the Eagles defense for the next several years, and along with
Bill Bergey and
John Bunting, formed one of the best linebacking corps in the NFL in the 1970s.
He played a total of nine seasons for the team and appeared in all 129 of their games in that period, starting the final 115.
Along with
Robert Brazile
Robert Lorenzo Brazile Jr. (born February 7, 1953) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Dr. Doom", Brazile played from 1975 to 1984 for the Houston Oilers and w ...
, he was the only player at his position to start every NFL game from 1975 to 1982.
, LeMaster is fourth all-time in team history for starts by a linebacker, trailing only
William Thomas (129),
Chuck Bednarik
Charles Philip Bednarik (May 1, 1925 – March 21, 2015), nicknamed "Concrete Charlie", was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). He has been ranked one of the hardest hitting tacklers in NFL history an ...
(122), and Bunting (116).
When he retired, he placed sixth all-time for most consecutive games with Philadelphia and he also led the team in tackles four out of the nine seasons he played with them.
In LeMaster's first four seasons, the Eagles won only 20 out of 56 games.
The team hired coach
Dick Vermeil
Richard Albert Vermeil (; born October 30, 1936) is a former American football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons, the St. Lou ...
, and they went from 4–10 in 1976, to 5–9 in 1977, before reaching the playoffs as a wildcard in 1978 and making the playoffs again in 1979; LeMaster was a vital figure in helping the team turn around.
Vermeil described him as "an outstandingly conditioned player. He was very respected by the coaching staff and players. He was just that kind of guy who had his head screwed on straight. Frank wasn't vocal with his ideas. He set examples."
In 1980, he helped the team win the
NFC Championship and reach
Super Bowl XV
Super Bowl XV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...
, where they lost to the
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
. Nevertheless, he was an important figure in their defense, which was first in the league for points allowed and second in yards allowed.
The following year, he again led an Eagles defense that had the league-best for lowest points allowed, which season remains the last year the team has accomplished this. He also earned his first and only
Pro Bowl selection.
The Eagles only won three games in the strike-shortened 1982 season and LeMaster missed the entire 1983 season due to an injury in preseason.
He was traded to the
San Francisco 49ers in 1984, and despite being told he had made the team, ended up being the final roster cut.
He retired in 1985.
LeMaster played 129 games and started 115 in his career.
He posted 10
interceptions, which he returned for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
He also posted 14.5 unofficial
sacks, and was occasionally used throughout his career on offense, posting eight
rush
Rush(es) may refer to:
Places
United States
* Rush, Colorado
* Rush, Kentucky
* Rush, New York
* Rush City, Minnesota
* Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois
* Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream
* Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...
attempts for 108 yards as well as one reception for −4 yards.
He scored a total of three touchdowns in his career, being only one of three Eagles linebackers to accomplish this feat.
Later life and family
LeMaster worked for
Enron Energy Services
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. B ...
in the Philadelphia area, among other businesses.
LeMaster joined
FieldTurf in 2001 and was vice president of sales when he retired in 2020.
He was active in local charitable organizations.
He was inducted into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007 and was selected to the Kentucky High School Hall of Fame in 2009, as well as the Chester County Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
LeMaster and his wife Marylou had three children.
He died on March 23, 2023, at age 71.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemaster, Frank
1952 births
2023 deaths
American football linebackers
Bryan Station High School alumni
Kentucky Wildcats football players
Philadelphia Eagles players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
Players of American football from Lexington, Kentucky