Frank Pattee
{{Short description|American football player (1924–2011)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Frank Pattee
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| position = Halfback
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1924|3|11}}
| birth_place = Smith Center, Kansas, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|1|5|1924|3|11}}
| death_place = Westlake Village, California, U.S.
| high_school = Smith Center
(Smith Center, Kansas)
| height_ft =
| height_in =
| weight_lbs =
| college = Kansas
| cis =
| draftyear = 1949
| draftround = 23
| draftpick = 228
| highlights =
}}
Frank Sondles Pattee (March 11, 1924 – January 5, 2011) was an American football halfback. He was born in Smith Center, Kansas, the son of Addie (née Munson) and John Walter Pattee.{{cite news |title=Obituary |url=http://www2.ljworld.com/obituaries/2011/jan/11/frank-pattee/ |publisher=Lawrence Journal-World |date=January 6, 2011 |accessdate=October 6, 2012}}{{cite news |last=Mayer |first=Bill |title=Mayer: KU tasted Orange in '47, '68 |url=http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/dec/22/mayer_ku_tasted_orange_47_68/ |publisher=Lawrence Journal-World |date=December 22, 2007 |accessdate=October 14, 2012}} He was a star football player at Smith Center High School, and played college football at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.
Playing career
Pattee enrolled at Kansas in 1943, before joining the United States Navy where he served stateside in the U.S. Naval Air Force. Frank later returned to Kansas where he played football from 1945 through 1948, lettering all four years.{{cite book | title=Kansas Football 2012 Media Guide | year=2012 | publisher=University of Kansas | location=Lawrence, Kansas | page=186 }} He was the starting fullback on Kansas' 1948 Orange Bowl team as well as one of the starting linebackers.{{cite book | title=Jayhawker | year=1948 | publisher=1948 Student Body of the University of Kansas | location=Lawrence, Kansas | page=234 }} Frank was instrumental as one of the most versatile players on the team which led to him also filling in at several other positions while at Kansas and during the 1948 Orange Bowl game.{{cite news |title=Former KU football player Pattee passes away |publisher=Kansas City Star |date=January 7, 2011}} This versatility lead to him being named the team captain of the 1948 Kansas football team as well. After graduating in 1949, he was drafted in the sixth round of the 1949 AAFC as the 41st overall pick by the Baltimore Colts,{{Cite web |url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/AAFC/1949_AAFC_Draft.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617102231/http://www.profootballresearchers.org/AAFC/1949_AAFC_Draft.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 17, 2013 |title=1949 AAFC Draft |website=Profootballresearchers.org |access-date=November 26, 2020}} and in the 23rd round of the 1949 NFL draft as the 228th overall pick by the Washington Redskins,{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1949/draft.htm |title=1949 NFL Draft |website=pro-football-reference.com |access-date=November 26, 2020}} but chose not to pursue a career in professional football.
Later life and legacy
Pattee married Betty Jo O'Neal on June 16, 1946, at the Danforth Chapel on the campus of Kansas. Passing on a career in professional football, he initially pursued a career in business with the Cities Services Oil Company, then later a career with the U.S. Department of Transportation.{{cite news |first=Adler |last=Eric |title=True And False:Life Of The Real Erin Brockovich Is Far From Ideal |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2000/04/13/true-and-false/ |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=April 4, 2000 |access-date=October 13, 2012}}
Frank and Betty Jo had two sons and two daughters, Frank Pattee Jr., Thomas Pattee, Jodie Knight, and Erin Brockovich.{{cite journal |last1=Schneider |first1=Karen S. |date=April 3, 2000 |title=Gutsy Beauty |journal=People Magazine |volume=53 |issue=13 |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20130862,00.html |accessdate=October 12, 2012}} His daughter Erin Brockovich went on to fame as a law clerk who became internationally notable as the subject of an eponymous movie starring Julia Roberts (for which Roberts won the Best Actress Academy Award).
Pattee died on Wednesday, January 5, 2011, in Westlake Village, California. He was buried later that year in Pioneer Cemetery in Lawrence, Kansas alongside his wife.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Redskins1949DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pattee, Frank}}
Category:American football fullbacks
Category:Kansas Jayhawks football players
Category:People from Smith Center, Kansas