Frank Winters
Sport: Football
Born: January 23, 1964
Town: Union City
Frank Mitchell Winters was born January 23, 1964 in Hoboken and grew up in Union City. He was the third of four brothers, plus his sister, Chrissie. Frank’s dad, a postal worker, had been a good football player and Frank followed in his footsteps. He played for Emerson High and was a standout lineman. Frank—whose nickname was Frankie Bag-O-Donuts—earned a scholarship to Western Illinois University and was a starting guard and center for the Leathernecks from 1984 to 1986, earning All-America recognition as a senior.
Frank was selected in the 10th round of the 1987 draft by the Cleveland Browns. He was a bench player for Cleveland for two seasons, and then for one year with the Giants. After two solid seasons with the Chiefs, he was signed by the Green Bay Packers and won the starting job at left guard. In 1995, he became Green Bay’s starting center and in 1996 was picked for the Pro Bowl at that position. The 1996 season saw the Packers defeat the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI. Green Bay lost to the Broncos in the Super Bowl the following year.
Frank continued to center for Brett Favre and anchor Green Bay’s offensive line until the age of 38. He retired after the 2002 season and was enshrined in the Packers Hall of Fame in 2008. Favre—his roommate for 11 seasons—gave his induction speech. Another close friend on the team was tight end Mark Chmura. They helped Frank deal with the loss of his brother, John, who died at age 35 a few days before Super Bowl XXXI.
Frank moved to the Midwest after retiring from the NFL. He returned to Hudson County for the Super Bowl 2014
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