Julius Franks

Julius "Julie" Franks, Jr.(September 5, 1922– November 26, 2008) was a civil rights leader and anAll-Americanguardwho playedfootballat theUniversity of Michiganfrom 1941 to 1942. Franks wore #62 as avarsity lettermanin 1941 and #63 in 1942.Franks was the first (or second depending on the source)African-AmericanUniversity of Michigan player to become an All-American in football.Illness cut short his collegiate athletic career.

Julius Franks

Julius Franks, c. 1942
No. 63
Position:	Guard
Personal information
Born:	(1922-09-05)September 5, 1922 Macon, Georgia,U.S.
Died:	November 26, 2008(2008-11-26)(aged 86) Grand Rapids, Michigan,U.S.
Height:	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:	187 lb (85 kg)
Career information
High school:	Hamtramck (MI)
College:	Michigan
Undrafted:	1944
Career highlights and awards
ConsensusAll-American(1942) First-teamAll-Big Ten(1942)

After Michigan, Franks pursued a career in dentistry. He also became an active community leader who contributed his time to public service and who helped to integrateGrand Rapids, Michiganby financing home construction in a majorityCaucasianneighborhood.

First African-American All-American football player at Michigan

Julius Franks was born inMacon, Georgiaand raised inHamtramck, Michigan.He was named to theDetroit, Michigan,all-city team after the 1939 high school football season.He is the son of Julius Franks, Sr. and Nellie Mae Solomon and father of Daryl, Cheryl, Bobby, Beverly A Grant, Fredrick.After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Michigan, where he became the third African-American to play for the Michigan Wolverines football team. In 1942, he became the first African-American at Michigan to earn All-American honors.He is described as the second to be All-American by some accounts.

Franks as a Michigan All-American in 1942.

Head coachFritz Crislersaid Franks was one of the hardest-working players he ever coached.The 1942 Wolverines' offensive line, which included Franks,Al Wistert,Robert Kolesar,Merv Pregulman,andElmer Madar,was known as the "Seven Oak Posts".Franks credited the group's success toscrimmagingas rookies against the 1940 offense that includedTom Harmon,Forest Evashevski,andBob Westfall.Franks was played all 60 minute in his games as a junior in 1942 and was named a first-team All American by the International News Service (Hearst newspapers), Central Press, andCollier's Weekly,and a second-team All-American by theAssociated PressandNew York Sun.

In 1943, Franks and teammate Tom Kuzma came down withtuberculosisand were hospitalized atUniversity Hospitalfor 25 months as they recuperated. Franks recalled thathead coachFritz Crislerwas a regular visitor to his hospital room, and team starTom Harmonalso stopped to visit while on leave from military service. As a result of the hospitalization, Franks missed his senior year as a football player.He obtained hisBachelor of Sciencedegree in 1947.

In 1982, Franks was named to the University of Michigan Hall of Honor in the fifth class of inductees that was inducted in 1983. He was the twelfth Michigan football player to earn this honor.

Professional career and community service

In 1951,Franks earned hisD.D.S.from the University of Michigan Dental School, and practiceddentistryinGrand Rapids, Michiganfor more than 40 years. Franks was a leader in theUrban League,United Way,American Red Cross,Boy Scouts of America,andRotary Club.In 1964,Michigan GovernorGeorge Romneyappointed Franks toWestern Michigan University's first Board of Trustees, where he served as a trustee until 1983.Franks served on several boards: Executive Communication, Vice President, President, 1951–87;Kent CountyDental Society, 1951–92; Michigan & American Dental Association, 1951–96; trustee, Western Michigan University, 1964–82 (trustee emeritus, 1983); Director, Boulevard Memorial Medical Center, 1974–84; Director, United Way Kent County, 1987–92.In 1992, Franks contractedGuillain–Barré syndrome,which forced him into retirement.

In the 1960s, Franks helped tointegrateGrand Rapids. In the early 1960s, African Americans were not welcome in Grand Rapids' "white"middle-classneighborhoods, andreal estate agentswould not show them houses. In 1962, Franks' friend, J.E. Adams, found vacant land designated as a potential park site. Adams, Franks, and friends Joseph Lee and Samuel Triplett created a plan to purchase the 20 acres (80,937 m²) site and build a middle-class neighborhood for African-Americans. The announcement "caused an uproar that resulted in protests, lawsuits and threats." When banks refused to finance the project, the four men purchased the land on their own for$60,000 and started building. The first of 51 houses was completed in 1965. Today, the neighborhood, known as Auburn Hills (not to be confused withAuburn Hills, Michigan), has a population of 542 and the lowest crime rate in Grand Rapids.In 2006, the Michigan Alumni Club gave Franks the "Paul G. Goebel, Sr. Distinguished Alumni in Athletics Award".In later years, Franks was also a leader with the Urban League, United Way and other groups.

See also

• University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor

Sources

• Jim Cnockaert, "Michigan: Where Have You Gone?"(2004 Sports Publishing), pp. 76–79.

Further reading

• Faisal, Donald (May/June 2022). "Dr. Julius Franks: Athlete and Activist".Michigan History.Lansing, Michigan: Historical Society of Michigan.