RIP Bill Fralic

[BitterYoungMatador2]

All-American linemen at Pitt and all-pro in the NFL, dead at 56. He'd been in declining health for a while.

Bill Fralic, Pitt All-American and Penn Hills football great, dies at 56

 

[da man]

Holy ****, really?

This hits home in a couple ways.

First, he's younger than me.

Second, I covered the Falcons while he was there and he was always a go-to -- funny, sarcastic, irreverent and just a lot of fun to talk to. And of course a really good guard.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Also was one of the NFL players along with Refrigerator Perry who participated in the battle royal at Wrestlemania II. He actually cut a couple of promos beforehand that weren't half bad. RIP

 

[cyclingwriter2]

I started to really get into football just as Fralic was peaking as a player with the Falcons and as a big kid who knew he was destined for the line, fralic became one of my favorites.

Also, I forgotten how outspoken he was on steroids later in his career. Good to see that in the story.

 

[playthrough]

Sorry to hear. My first job in high school was at a McDonald's in Marietta, Ga., and a lot of Falcons lived in the area and came through the drive-thru -- Fralic, Jessie Tuggle, others.

From the photo gallery in the above story, the AJC football special section front from 1985. Something you'd never see today ...

 

[Steak Snabler]

He was among the first football linemen that I remember who looked more like a body builder than a football player. Now they pretty much all look like that.

 

[John B. Foster]

Also was one of the NFL players along with Refrigerator Perry who participated in the battle royal at Wrestlemania II. He actually cut a couple of promos beforehand that weren't half bad. RIP

You beat me to it.

 

[mpcincal]

I had just started getting into pro wrestling when Wrestlemania 2 came around (they had an edited version of it on Showtime). I remember seeing that clip with Fralic and Studd and thinking, "Boy, if Fralic wanted to, he could make a good career at this wrestling thing after his football days are over."

Looking back, I'm guessing he realized how prevalent the steroid culture was in WWF at the time and didn't want any part of it.

 

[Batman]

He was among the first football linemen that I remember who looked more like a body builder than a football player. Now they pretty much all look like that.

There are still a few throwbacks.

 

[Iron_chet]

I remember the promo that Fralic cut and thinking it was hilarious. Was almost Lance Stormish in how straight laced it was and I popped huge when he talked about not being a fat lineman.

 

[Scout]

Damn
RIP

That’s when Pitt was Pitt.

 

[John B. Foster]

I remember the promo that Fralic cut and thinking it was hilarious. Was almost Lance Stormish in how straight laced it was and I popped huge when he talked about not being a fat lineman.

“If I could be serious for a minute”

 

[LanceyHoward]

What happened to Fralic's career. He was the number two choice in the draft, which is probably the highest selection ever for a guard, makes first team All-Pro in years two and three and the Pro Bowl in years four and five. Then he plays three more years in Atlanta, one with Detroit and he is gone.

 

[KJIM]

NFL: average career length | Statista

The statistic depicts the average length of a player's career in the National Football League, considering different aspects influencing the length of a playing career. According to the NFL Players Association the average career length is about 3.3 years. The NFL claims that the average career is about 6 years (for players who make a club's opening day roster in their rookie season).

 

[justgladtobehere]

NFL: average career length | Statista

11.7 years on average for at least one pro bowl selection seems way too high. How many players reach 12 years let alone surpass it to balance out all the players with fewer than say 5 seasons. Or is it a reflection of smaller pro bowl rosters in the past?

Survey time period
1993 to 2011

 

[maumann]

What happened to Fralic's career. He was the number two choice in the draft, which is probably the highest selection ever for a guard, makes first team All-Pro in years two and three and the Pro Bowl in years four and five. Then he plays three more years in Atlanta, one with Detroit and he is gone.

If your offense gets 80 snaps a game and you play 200 games in your professional career (not even counting college and high school), you're talking 16,000 high speed collisions between 250-300 pound men. The human body wasn't designed for that kind of violence. I think of Jim Otto and wince.

 

[goalmouth]

The Steelers were big steroid users when Fralic was at Pitt. No problem for him to get Stanazolol or what ever it was he was abusing.

 

[cyclingwriter2]

Didn’t fralic admit that he stopped using steroids after a few seasons in the nfl, which is about when you see a dip in his level of place since he was lining up against guys who still were using?

 

[cjericho]

He was among the first football linemen that I remember who looked more like a body builder than a football player. Now they pretty much all look like that.

You still watch the NFL? there's still a lot of guys who look more like Regrigerator than Fralic --
Snacks Harrison, Lane Taylor, Linval Joseph, DJ Fluker.