Frank Edward Liebel (November 19, 1919December 26, 1996) was a professional
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
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/
defensive back
In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
. He is also a member of the
.
Early life and education
Frank was born on November 19, 1919 in
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
to Frank J. Liebel (1896-1957) and Clara Rafferty (1900-1967).
His grandfather, Edward Constantine Liebel (1875-1969) was born in
Leimersheim,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, and was the nephew of
Reinhard Liebel (1841-1905), himself the uncle of
Michael Liebel, Jr. (1870–1927) (
Mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania
This is a list of the people who have served as mayor of the city of Erie, Erie County, in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Erie's city government consists of a mayor and a city council. The mayor's office includes an elected city treasurer
A tre ...
, from 1906-1911, and a
Democratic member of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
from
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, from 1915-1917), all of Erie, Pennsylvania. Together Frank and Clara had four children:
*William Liebel (1915-1972)
*Frank Edward Liebel (1919-1996)
*Robert Martin Liebel (1922-1999)
*Betty Liebel (1924-2001)
He attended Erie Academy for high school and Norwich University for college, graduating in 1943.
Career
Liebel his NFL career began with the New York Giants, signing with them as a free agent in 1942, a year before he graduated from Norwich.
He played seven seasons for the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
(1942–1947) and the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
(1948). He led the league in 1945 in yard per reception (27.0) and receiving touchdowns (10) for his 22 receptions. He also was Named to the All-NFL 2nd Team in both 1945 and 1946.
During the
1944 NFL Championship Game
The 1944 NFL Championship Game was the 12th National Football League (NFL) title game, played on December 17 at the Polo Grounds in New York City, with an attendance of 46,016. The game featured the Green Bay Packers (8–2), champions of the ...
, Liebel was on the Giants’ sideline when they lost to
Green Bay, and again in 1948, this time with the
Chicago Cardinals
The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons.
Roots ca ...
, for the
1948 NFL Championship Game
The 1948 NFL Championship Game was the 16th title game of the National Football League (NFL), played at Shibe Park in Philadelphia on December 19.
The game was a rematch of the previous year's title game between the defending champion, the Ch ...
with the Cardinals when they fell to
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
in the final.
Liebel also was a reserve for the 1948 Chicago Cardinals, but didn’t record any statistics for them. His final career NFL numbers were 84 receptions for 1,753 yards and 23 TDs on offense, plus seven interceptions and three fumble recoveries on defense.
1946 NFL Championship Game
The day before the
1946 NFL Championship Game
The 1946 NFL Championship Game was the 14th annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL), played December 15 at the Polo Grounds in New York City, with a record-breaking attendance of
The game matched the New York Giants (7â ...
between the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
and the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
, two players for the Giants,
Frank Filchock
Frank Joseph Filchock (October 8, 1916 – June 20, 1994) was an American gridiron football player and coach. As a consequence of a famous scandal regarding the 1946 NFL Championship Game, he was suspended by the National Football League (NF ...
and
Merle Hapes
Merle Alison Hapes (May 19, 1919July 18, 1994) was a professional American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played two seasons for the New York Giants (1942, 1946).
He and quarterback Frank Filchock were involved in a ...
, had been accused of taking bribes to fix the game from
Alvin Paris. New York City Mayor
William O'Dwyer
William O'Dwyer (July 11, 1890November 24, 1964) was an Irish-American politician and diplomat who served as the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950.
Life and career
O'Dwyer was born in Bohola, County Mayo, Ire ...
had
Jack Mara
John V. Mara (March 21, 1908 – June 29, 1965) was a co-owner of the New York Giants, an American football team that plays in the National Football League. Jack was the son of Elizabeth "Lizette" (née Barclay) and Tim Mara and brother of Wel ...
,
Wellington Mara
Wellington Timothy Mara (August 14, 1916 – October 25, 2005) was the co-owner of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) from 1959 until his death. He was the younger son of Tim Mara, who founded the Giants in 1925. Wellingto ...
and
Bert Bell
De Benneville "Bert" Bell (February 25, 1895 – October 11, 1959) was the National Football League (NFL) commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he introduced competitive parity into the NFL to improve the league's comme ...
informed of the police evidence against the two.
Within hours, the four then met at
Gracie Mansion
Archibald Gracie Mansion (commonly called Gracie Mansion) is the official residence of the Mayor of New York City. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and 88th Street in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. T ...
and the mayor interviewed the players one at a time.
[Robert S. Lyons, ''On Any Given Sunday: A Life of Bert Bell.'' Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2010; pg. 201.] Under questioning, Hapes admitted that he was offered a bribe and Filchock denied being offered it. Several hours later, Paris was arrested and confessed to bribing the players. Hapes was suspended by Bell, but Filchock was allowed to play.[Lyons, ''On Any Given Sunday,'' pg. 202.]
During the game, Liebel caught a 38-yard scoring pass from quarterback Frank Filchock, which New York eventually lost 24-14 to the Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
. During Paris' trial weeks later, Filchock admitting taking the bribe under oath.[Lyons, ''On Any Given Sunday,'' pg. 203.]
Honors
Liebel was inducted into the Norwich University
Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...
Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2008, and the .
Post-football career
After retiring from the National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
, he worked for 29 years with Erie County’s probation and parole department.
Personal life
In 1946, Frank married Arline M. Gorenflo (1923-2011), who was born in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
and was the daughter of the Bert and Esther Johnson Gorenflo. Together Frank and Arline had three children:
*Gary Liebel
*Gayle Liebel
*Tina Liebel
They are buried together at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania
Millcreek Township is a township in Erie County, Pennsylvania. The population was 54,073 at the 2020 census. It is the largest suburb of Erie, and the 12th largest municipality in the state.
Millcreek Township is home to the entrance to Presq ...
.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liebel, Frank
1919 births
1996 deaths
Players of American football from Erie, Pennsylvania
American football wide receivers
American football defensive backs
Norwich Cadets football players
New York Giants players
Chicago Bears players
Liebel family