Russ Francis killed in plane crash

[BadMoFo]

If Sunday couldn’t get any worse for Patriots fans. Rest in Peace.

Russ Francis, former NFL great from Hawaii, dies in plane crash

Russ Francis, a former Kailua High School athlete who went on to star in the NFL and win a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers, was killed in an airplane crash Sunday, according to the Lake Placid News. He was 70 years old.

www.staradvertiser.com

 

[aluminum seats]

Damn it. Great player. RIP

 

[Patsfan1958]

Wow, that really sucks.

My condolences to his family, friends and fans.

 

[itgl72]

Oh man... RIP

 

[Pape]

That really sucks.

RIP & Godspeed Russ

 

[Nikolai]

Wow...unbelievable

Fair winds and following seas, Russ

 

[AQPE]

Sad to see this, loved Russ Francis, he was a great player and very much his own guy. Kol Hakovod

 

[reflexblue]

Very sad news he was a great player. To those to young to have seen him he was gronk before gronk. RIP

 

[Chevy]

Wow ... One of the best ever. Sad.

 

[turkeyneck]

This is awful news.

This is an awful week.

Francis vs Steelers w/ Cosell "All World" call

 

[FCB02062]

Wow, on another team Francis would have been a household name. RIP, "All World Russ Francis"

 

[DarrylS]

Wow really sad, a great player.
Howard Cossell dubbed him "All World" and no one disagreed.

 

[turkeyneck]

@Ian, can we sticky this at the top for a while?

 

[Steve102]

First Wake, now Russ. All World TE before Coates, Gronk, Kelse. Godspeed, good sir.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

Wow, Brooks, then Tim and now Russ. Bad week for sports greats

 

[n6249c]

Damn. This hits home hard for me.

I loved Russ as a player, and he seemed a great guy. I’m also a member of AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) and know Sr VP Richard McSpadden was very well regarded. Ironically, he was Executive Director of the AOPA Air Safety Institute. McSpadden was also former commander of the USAF Thunderbirds. Both are tremendous losses.

Plus, I was flying yesterday myself. I missed yesterday’s game because I was delayed getting home when my plane had problems after I flew a friend to NC. I assume Russ experienced a mechanical problem. The article below states that they experienced an emergency after take-off and crashed attempting to return to the airport, which is consistent with mechanical failure.

It also contained this lovely anecdote:

His son’s mother, Kate Naiman, said “To Russ, flying was like breathing...it came naturally and he lived for it. He used to fly his P-51 Mustang to practice and land in the stadium parking lot and really piss off Bill Walsh. There will be some comfort down the road in knowing that he died doing the thing he loved most, but not today.”

Investigation into fatal Lake Placid plane crash continues

 

[n6249c]

Misleading report from MassLive. Says McSpadden was piloting. AOPA said McSpadden was in the right seat. Plane has dual controls but pilot in command flies in the left seat.

Former Patriots star killed in plane crash

 

[bresna]

This is a bummer. Russ Francis was one of my favorite Patriots players when I was a kid.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

This is awful news.

This is an awful week.

Francis vs Steelers w/ Cosell "All World" call

Wow, that clip shows both Daryl Stingley and Russ Francis catching long TD passes. Both were amazing talents, both died too young.

Francis was a great TE, 6'6" 240's, could run like a deer, catch, block. Swashbuckling persona. Part of that mid 70's Fairbanks team that got screwed by Ben Drieth and should've won at least 1 ring.

When you think about him, then Ben Coates a few years later, then Gronk, that's 3 of the greatest TE's you'll ever see.

 

[upstater1]

Francis spoke to the team just a season or two ago.