Frank Hembre Nunley (born October 1, 1945), known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

Fudge Hammer, is a former

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 wi ...

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, ...

. He played college football at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1964 to 1966 and professional football for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

from 1967 to 1976.

Early years

Nunley was born in Lexington, Alabama, in 1945, and attended Belleville High School in

Belleville, Michigan Belleville is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state Michigan. The population was 3,991 at the 2010 census. As a western suburb of Metro Detroit, Belleville is southeast of Ann Arbor and southwest of Detroit. Belleville is located just s ...

University of Michigan

Nunley played college football for the

from 1964 to 1966. He was selected by the

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as a first-team

on its

1966 All-Big Ten Conference football team The 1966 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by various organizations for All-Big Ten Conference teams for the 1966 Big Ten Conference football season. Players from the 1966 Michigan State Spartans foo ...

. He was inducted into the

University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs.

in 1989.

San Francisco 49ers

Nunley was selected by the

in the third round (62nd overall pick) of the 1967 NFL Draft. He remained with the 49ers for 10 seasons from 1967 to 1976. Playing at the

position, Nunley became a starter in 1969 and anchored the 49ers defense in the early 1970s that ran an innovative "flex" defense under

Dick Nolan Rick Nolan is a Minnesota politician. Richard Nolan may also refer to *Dick Nolan (American football) (1932–2007), American football player, father of Mike Nolan, former head coach of San Francisco 49ers *Dick Nolan (musician) (1939–2005), Cana ...

. He helped lead the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

and 1971 49ers teams to consecutive appearances in the NFL championship games, losing both times to the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...

Later years

After retiring from football, Nunley lived in

Los Altos, California Los Altos (; Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 31,625 according to the 2020 census. Most of the city's growth occurred between 1950 and 1980. Originally ...

, and sold electronics for Sanmina-SCA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunley, Frank 1945 births Living people People from Lauderdale County, Alabama People from Palo Alto, California Players of American football from Alabama American football linebackers Michigan Wolverines football players San Francisco 49ers players Businesspeople from California