players against each other until the other team returned for the second half. He worked there until the school shut down in 1982. He hunted and fished in retirement, and was often difficult to reach. He lived on a mountain in West Virginia and did not have a telephone for many years. Gatski was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985 as part of a class that included Joe Namath, Pete Rozelle, O. J. Simpson, and Roger Staubach. Gatski said he had not expected to make it into the hall. He had not played for 28 years when he was selected by an old-timers committee. Two decades later, Marshall University retired Gatski's number 72 during a homecoming game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Gatski was the first and remains the only Marshall football player to be so honored. Gatski died on November 22, 2005, at a nursing home in Morgantown, West Virginia and was buried at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton. He was married and had seven children. The following year, the East End Bridge in Huntington, West Virginia was renamed the Frank Gatski Memorial Bridge during halftime of a Marshall-UTEP football game. References Bibliography External links Story on Gatski Memorial Bridge 1921 births 2005 deaths People from Farmington, West Virginia American people of Polish descent American football centers American football linebackers Auburn Tigers football players Marshall Thundering Herd football players Cleveland Browns (AAFC) players Cleveland Browns players Detroit Lions players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from West Virginia United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers