Thursday, March 10, 2011
Posted: 7:14 p.m.
By Ray Didinger
CSNPhilly.com
Frank Ziegler, a halfback on the Eagles 1949 NFL championship team, died Sunday in Gainesville, Ga. He was 87.
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Ziegler was a rookie on that 49 team which was the best team in franchise history. The Eagles went 11-1 in the regular season and defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 14-0, in the championship game.
Ziegler was a star at Georgia Tech where he played for famed coach Bobby Dodd and earned the nickname the Zoomer for his speed and shifty moves. His college career was interrupted by a four-year hitch in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Ziegler ran every day on the beach to stay in shape so he could return to football after the war.
The Eagles selected the 5-11, 175-pound Ziegler in the third round of the 1949 draft. They did not need another backthey already had the leagues top rusher, Steve Van Buren, as well as veterans Bosh Pritchard, Joe Muha and Clyde Scottbut coach Greasy Neale felt Ziegler was too good to pass up.
Ziegler saw limited duty as a rookie, carrying the ball 84 times for 283 yards and one touchdown. He also played defense, intercepting one pass and returning it 16 yards. He had three carries in the championship game against the Rams.
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The following year, Ziegler was given the unenviable task of replacing Van Buren when the great halfback was sidelined by an injury. Ziegler finished second among the leagues rushers that yearhe had 733 yards on 172 carriesand he added 13 receptions for 216 yards, a 16.6 yard average. He led the league in touches (190), but he also fumbled 10 times.
Ziegler led all Eagles rushers again in 1951 with 418 yards on 113 carries. He played two more years with the team, retiring after the 1953 season with 1,926 rushing yards, 47 pass receptions and 15 touchdowns.
Ziegler considered a career in coaching, but instead he went into the tool business with his brother Bill. It started with the brothers selling tools from the trunk of Bills car, but soon they had a storeZieglers Tools -- near the Georgia Tech campus and it was a big success. The Ziegler name is pretty big there. All seven brothers earned degrees from the school.
For 47 years, Frank Ziegler served as vice-president in charge of sales and landed huge accounts such as Delta Airlines, General Motors and Lockheed. When he finally retired, he devoted his time to golf (he was a scratch golfer) and his family. He and his wife Alice had six children, 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.