Frank Mitchell Winters (born January 23, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

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 ...

(NFL) for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

, New York Giants,

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

, and the Green Bay Packers. He played college football for the

Western Illinois Leathernecks The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I sports. The school's primary conference affiliation is with the Summit League; its football ...

Early life

Frank Mitchell Winters was born in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

. He lived in Union City, and played football at Emerson High School.

Career

Winters played

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 ...

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. History Western Illin ...

and was drafted in the tenth round of the 1987 NFL Draft. Winters was the Packers' starting center serving for eight straight seasons (1993–2000). He played in the Pro Bowl and also earned USA Today

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

honors in 1999. His nickname was "Frankie Baggadonuts" or "Old Bag of Donuts". On July 18, 2008, Winters was inducted into the

Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

. His ceremony was marked by heightened media interest because

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Brett Favre Brett Lorenzo Favre ( ; born October 10, 1969) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons, primarily with the Green Bay Packers. Favre had 321 consecutive starts from 1992 to 201 ...

gave the induction speech amidst the developing saga regarding Favre's status with the Packers. On May 20, 2009, Winters got an internship with the Indianapolis Colts. He has part ownership in a popular Missouri bar and grill, Frankie & Johnny's.

References

1964 births Living people Emerson High School (Union City, New Jersey) alumni Sportspeople from Hoboken, New Jersey Sportspeople from Union City, New Jersey Players of American football from Hudson County, New Jersey American football centers American football offensive guards Western Illinois Leathernecks football players Cleveland Browns players New York Giants players Kansas City Chiefs players Green Bay Packers players National Conference Pro Bowl players Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame {{offensive-lineman-1960s-stub