View source for Bill Fralic

{{Short description|American professional football player and professional wrestler (1962 – 2018)}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}

{{Infobox NFL biography
| name        = Bill Fralic
|image=Bill Fralic.jpeg
| number      = 79
| position    = [[Guard (gridiron football)|Guard]]
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1962|10|31}}
| birth_place = [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2018|12|13|1962|10|31}}
| death_place = [[Atlanta, Georgia]], U.S.
| height_ft   = 6
| height_in   = 5
| weight_lb   = 280
| high_school = [[Penn Hills High School|Penn Hills]]  {{nowrap|([[Penn Hills, Pennsylvania]])}}
| college     = [[Pittsburgh Panthers football|Pittsburgh]] (1981–1984)
| draftyear   = 1985
| draftround  = 1
| draftpick   = 2
| pastteams   =
* [[Atlanta Falcons]] ({{NFL Year|1985|1992}})
* [[Detroit Lions]] ({{NFL Year|1993}})
| highlights  =
* 2× First-team [[All-Pro]] (1986, 1987)
* Second-team All-Pro (1988)
* 4× [[Pro Bowl]] ([[1987 Pro Bowl|1986]]–[[1990 Pro Bowl|1989]])
* [[NFL 1980s All-Decade Team]]
* [[PFWA All-Rookie Team]] ([[PFWA All-Rookie Team#1985|1985]])
* [[UPI Lineman of the Year (College)|UPI Lineman of the Year]] (1984)
* 2× [[Unanimous All-American]] ([[1983 College Football All-America Team|1983]], [[1984 College Football All-America Team|1984]])
* First-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1982 College Football All-America Team|1982]])
* 3× First-team All-[[Big East Conference|East]] ([[1982 All-East football team|1982]], [[1983 All-East football team|1983]], [[1984 All-East football team|1984]])
* Second-team All-East ([[1981 All-East football team|1981]])
* [[Pittsburgh Panthers football#Retired numbers|Pittsburgh Panthers No. 79]] retired
| statlabel1  = Games played
| statvalue1  = 132
| statlabel2  = Games started
| statvalue2  = 131
| statlabel3  = [[Fumble]] recoveries
| statvalue3  = 2
| pfr         = F/FralBi00
| CollegeHOF  = 2041 
}}

'''William P. Fralic Jr.''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|r|eɪ|l|ɪ|k}} {{Respell|FRAY|lik}};<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gjNgUYkI4A |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/8gjNgUYkI4A |archive-date=2021-12-19 |url-status=live|title=Former Penn Hills, Pitt Football Star Bill Fralic Dies At 56|website=[[YouTube]] |date=December 14, 2018 |access-date=March 4, 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref> October 31, 1962 – December 13, 2018) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[Guard (gridiron football)|guard]] for the [[Atlanta Falcons]] and [[Detroit Lions]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL) from 1985 to 1993.  He played [[college football]] for the [[Pittsburgh Panthers football|Pittsburgh Panthers]].

==Early life==
Born in [[Penn Hills, Pennsylvania]], Fralic played [[high school football]] at [[Penn Hills High School]] and graduated in 1981.  Readers of the Pennsylvania Football News named him to the "All Century" team of Pennsylvania high school football players.  He is listed beside [[Chuck Bednarik]] and [[Mike Munchak]] as a first team guard. Fralic was named the male high school athlete of the year by the ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]].''<ref name=bilfrl>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=F89RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-20DAAAAIBAJ&pg=7057%2C4219840 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |last=Eberson |first=Sharon |title=Bill Fralic|date=June 19, 1981|page=13 }}</ref>

==College career==
After high school, the highly recruited Fralic attended the [[University of Pittsburgh]] on a football [[Athletic scholarship|scholarship]].  While at Pitt, he played [[Tackle (American and Canadian football)|offensive tackle]] for the [[Pittsburgh Panthers football|Panthers]] and was named a [[unanimous All-American]] his junior and senior seasons. He was known for the 'Pancake Block' which was termed for the way he would flatten his opponents when blocking.  Fralic's teammates at Pitt included future Hall of Famers offensive tackle [[Jimbo Covert]] and quarterback [[Dan Marino]].

==NFL career==
In the [[1985 NFL draft]], Fralic was selected by the [[1985 Atlanta Falcons season|Atlanta Falcons]] in the first round with the second overall pick.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1985 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1985/draft.htm |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He became a starter for the Falcons at guard during his rookie season. Fralic went on to be named [[All-Pro]] in 1986 and 1987, and was named to the [[Pro Bowl]] from 1986 to 1989. During this time, the {{height|ft=6|in=5}}, {{convert|280|lb|0|abbr=on}} Fralic developed a reputation as a ferocious run blocker.

At the end of his NFL career, Fralic was one of the first players to take advantage of the new free agent system and jumped from the Falcons to the [[1993 Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions]], almost doubling his pay to $1.6 million for the 1993 season. The 1989 action figure of Fralic, from the [[Starting Lineup (toy line)|Starting Lineup]] Kenner toy line, is the 'Holy Grail' for collectors. As of 2020, a loose figure (not in the package) can fetch as much as $900 US dollars. The trading card that came with the figure is worth $200-$300.

==Professional wrestling and color commentary==
In 1986, Fralic was one of six football players in the twenty-man battle royal at [[WrestleMania 2]], in which [[Andre the Giant]] was the victor. Leading up to the bout, Fralic's interviews pitted him as a rival to [[Big John Studd]].

Fralic co-hosted the April 25, 1992, episode of [[WCW Saturday Night]] with [[Jim Ross]] and said he was weighing his options between joining [[WCW]] or going back to the NFL for the 1992 season.<ref name="WCW Saturday Night">{{Cite episode |title= WCW Saturday Night April 25, 1992 |episode-link= |url= https://www.peacocktv.com/watch-online/sports/wcw-saturday-night/7056873603030220112/seasons/1/episodes/april-25-1992-episode-4/f05d6af1-1e56-3d59-a85d-b2810e49ca3d |access-date= October 22, 2023 |series= [[WCW Saturday Night]] |series-link= |first= |last= |network= TBS |station= |date=April 25, 1992 |season= |series-no= |number= |minutes= 10|time= |transcript= |transcript-url= |quote= |language=}}</ref> Fralic ultimately left the Atlanta Falcons, signed as a free agent with the Detroit Lions, and did not pursue pro wrestling.

He briefly returned to the [[World Wrestling Federation]] on July 4, 1993, to participate in the Stars and Stripes Challenge aboard the {{USS|Intrepid|CV-11|6}}, trying to bodyslam the 550-pound WWF champion, [[Yokozuna (wrestler)|Yokozuna]].

Fralic was a [[color commentator]] for Falcons radio broadcasts from 1995 to 1997, and commentated [[Pittsburgh Panthers football|Pittsburgh Panther]] broadcasts from 2004 to 2010.

==Personal life and death==
Fralic died at the age of 56 on December 13, 2018, from cancer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/legendary-pitt-football-star-bill-fralic-has-died/888876147|title=BILL FRALIC: Legendary Pitt football star Bill Fralic has died|last=EndPlay|date=December 13, 2018|website=WPXI|language=en-US|access-date=December 14, 2018}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://triblive.com/sports/college/pitt/14405750-74/former-pitt-penn-hills-star-bill-fralic-dies-at-age-56|title=Former Pitt, Penn Hills star Bill Fralic dies at age 56 {{!}} TribLIVE|website=triblive.com|access-date=December 14, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.post-gazette.com/news/obituaries/2018/12/14/bill-fralic-death-pitt-football-penn-hills-pittsburgh/stories/201806200156|title=Bill Fralic, Pitt All-American and Penn Hills football great, dies at 56|website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|language=en|access-date=December 14, 2018}}</ref>

During his NFL career, Fralic publicly opposed the use of steroids by NFL players and advocated more rigorous and more random testing to detect steroid use.  In May 1989, he testified before the U.S. Senate that steroid use in the NFL was rampant.  The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time, Sen. [[Joe Biden]] of Delaware, was said to have found Fralic's testimony "refreshing and believable."<ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Fralic, former Falcons first-rounder and Pitt alum, dies at 56 |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25534645/bill-fralic-former-atlanta-falcons-pro-bowler-dies-56 |website=[[ESPN]] |date=2018-12-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202122030/https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25534645/bill-fralic-former-atlanta-falcons-pro-bowler-dies-56 |archive-date=2022-12-02 |url-status=live |last1=McClure |first1=Vaughn}}</ref>

In Atlanta, Fralic ran Bill Fralic Insurance Services, which he began during his playing days with the Falcons in 1989.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cargo Insurance Companies {{!}} Commercial Shipping Insurance {{!}} Bill Fralic Insurance |url=https://bfralic.com/about-us |website=Bill Fralic Insurance Services}}</ref>

Fralic had an unusual provision in his first contract with the Falcons that guaranteed that the team would pay him $150,000 per year for 40 years, even after he was no longer with the Falcons and his playing career was over. This provision came about because Fralic's father, Bill Fralic Sr., insisted that his son have security in his contract.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-25-sp-7278-story.html|title=Mouth of South : Bill Fralic, Falcons' Star Offensive Guard, Is Known to Talk as Bluntly as He Blocks|last1=Weyler|first1=John|work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]|quote=Bill Fralic Sr. has worked in a steel mill for 30 years. He's president of the local union and made sure his son had security written into his contract. Fralic's four-year, $7.75-million contract includes bonded annual $150,000 payments for the next 40 years.|date=October 25, 1986|accessdate=July 7, 2021}}</ref>

==Honors and awards==
In 2024, he was included in Croatian American Sports Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://community.triblive.com/news/3658402|title=Bill Fralic among athletic greats to be inducted into Croatian American Sports Hall of Fame|first=Michael|last=Love|publisher=[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review|triblive.com]]|date=October 26, 2024|accessdate=April 25, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.croatiaweek.com/croatian-american-sports-hall-of-fame-announces-2024-inductees/|title=Croatian American Sports Hall of Fame announces 2024 inductees|publisher=Croatia Week|date=7 May 2024|website=croatiaweek.com.}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060218053707/http://www.pafootballnews.com/AllCenturyTeams.htm The Pennsylvania Football News All-Century Team] Retrieved 2009-05-01.
*[https://vault.si.com/vault/1990/07/09/we-can-clean-it-up-atlanta-falcon-bill-fralic-is-making-it-his-business-to-rid-the-nfl-of-steroids/ 'We Can Clean It Up' Atlanta Falcon Bill Fralic is making it his business to rid the NFL of steroids] Retrieved 2009-05-01.
*[https://archive.today/20130102100947/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1138076/1/index.htm Perils Of A New Era] Retrieved 2009-05-01.
*[https://www.espn.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=2597570 Fralic not surprised by recent allegations] Retrieved 2009-05-01.

{{Navboxes|title=Bill Fralic|list=
{{1969-1994 All-America Team}}
{{1983 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{1984 NCAA Division I-A College Football Consensus All-Americans}}
{{Mr. Football USA}}
{{UPI Lineman of the Year}}
{{1985 NFL Draft}}
{{Second overall NFL draft picks}}
{{FalconsFirstPick}}
{{Atlanta Falcons 1985 draft navbox}}
{{NFL1980s}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fralic, Bill}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[Category:All-American college football players]]
[[Category:American football offensive guards]]
[[Category:Atlanta Falcons announcers]]
[[Category:Atlanta Falcons players]]
[[Category:College football announcers]]
[[Category:College Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Detroit Lions players]]
[[Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players]]
[[Category:NFL announcers]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh Panthers football players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Pittsburgh]]
[[Category:Second overall NFL draft picks]]
[[Category:American people of Croatian descent]]