NFL
By: Jeff Barnes
Long-time Minnesota Vikings‘ Scout and Director of Player Personnel Frank Gilliam has been moved to hospice care. Frank Gilliam is the uncle of the late Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Joe Gilliam who passed away in December 2000. Frank was an All-American at the University of Iowa before four seasons in the Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He later returned to Iowa as an assistant coach from 1966-1970.
Frank Gilliam would move on to become a scout for the Minnesota Vikings in 1970. Gilliam was one of the National Football League’s first African American scouts. Over 36 years with the Vikings, Gilliam would serve in several positions before he became Director of Player personnel. He would retire in June 2007 ending an incredible run. The Vikings would honor his service to the organization by starting the Gilliam-Reichow Scouting Fellowship after Frank Gilliam and fellow Vikings scout and former wide receiver Jerry Reichow. The Gilliam-Reichow Scouting Fellowship runs in conjunction with the Fritz Pollard Alliance’s Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowship.
“Frank was very influential to many not only in the scouting community but to all minorities in sports,” said long-time NFL scout Jerry Hardaway. “You will rarely find a better person that not only knows the game of football, but Frank is also knew the game of life” he added. Frank and Jerry first met when Jerry was an assistant coach at Memphis State University, and Frank was a scout for the Vikings. The two shared a mutual friendship that would begin with former Memphis State head coach and New York Jets assistant coach Bob Ledbetter. Other former colleagues and players alike have shared their concern over the grave news of Frank Gilliam’s diminished health.
Prayers Up For Frank Gilliam
Frank Gilliam was originally drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 7th Round of the 1957 NFL Draft. He would end up in Canada with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1957 – 1960. In his four-year career in the CFL, Frank Gilliam caught 39 passes for 604 yards and 5 touchdowns. After his playing career ended, Frank decided that teaching was his next calling. He would teach for 6 years until he would land an assistant coaching job at his alma mater when he started coaching at the University of Iowa. From 1966 – 1970, Frank patrolled the sidelines for coach Jerry Burns and the Hawkeyes. Frank’s nephew Joe Gilliam Jr. played for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a quarterback behind Terry Bradshaw earning two Super Bowl rings in the process. Joe was a talented passer that struggled with off-the-field addiction.
During his tenure with the Vikings, Frank Gilliam was there when the Vikings added plenty of major talent. Players like Chris Doleman, John Randle, Robert Smith, Randy Moss, Steve Jordan, Joey Browner, Steve Hutchinson, Randle McDaniel, and Gary Zimmerman are just some of the many players that were drafted during his time with the Vikings. He was also influential in hiring the late Dennis Green as the head coach of the Vikings. Frank has experienced some health challenges in recent years. Details of the nature of his condition are not known at this time.
