Frank Yanik

Category
1994
About This Inductee

Frank started his football career at West Scranton Senior High School under the coaching of Joe DeAntonio. During the 1974-75 seasons as a senior, Frank led the Invaders to a Big 11 championship against the Shamokin Lourdes. His other high school credits include setting a rushing record at West Scranton High School by rushing for 1,275 yards as a fullback, leading the Big 11 in rushing and scoring 12 touchdowns, averaging 7 yards per carry. Frank was also honorable mention All-State and was on the Big 33 checklist. Upon graduating from West Scranton High School, Frank attended Southwest State University, a NAIA Division 1 AA school in Minnesota. As a freshman, Frank set a freshman rushing record of 710 yards and scoring 10 touchdowns, also a record, earning him second team all conference. As a sophomore, Frank increased his yardage to help him become all conference. An illness in Frank’s family made him transfer to Bloomsburg University, where he started at fullback. An ankle injury caused Frank to miss his senior year. In 1980, Frank started for the Binghamton Jets, a semi-pro team in Binghamton, N.Y., in the Atlantic Football Conference. Frank was the first thousand yard rusher that year where he had 1,385 yards in 12 games and scored 21 touch-downs. For Frank’s efforts, the Hamilton Tiger Cats of Canada signed him to a contract and he finished the 1980 season in the CFL. In 1982, Frank joined the newly founded Scranton Eagles, where he ran for 1,960 yards and scored 26 touchdowns, leading the team to its first championship. Frank was named most valuable player of the league. In 1983, Frank’s performance earned him a contract in the U.S.F.L. with the New Jersey Generals, where he was a teammate of Hershel Walker in the 1983 season. Frank finished his career after ten seasons setting every AFA record including All National Team seven times, Most Valuable Player in National Championship games 1984-1986-1989, rushing for 15,685 yards and scoring 252 touchdowns. Forty-two touchdowns in the 1988 season was his high. Frank was inducted into the American Football Association, 1990, in Chicago, and Lackawanna Branch, Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, 1990.