Frank Buncom
| No. 55 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | November 2, 1939 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Shreveport, Louisiana | ||||||||
| Date of death: | September 14, 1969 (aged 29) | ||||||||
| Place of death: | Cincinnati, Ohio | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | USC | ||||||||
| AFL draft: | 1962 / Round: 6 / Pick: 48 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Games played-started: | 96-42 |
|---|---|
| Interceptions: | 5 |
| Fumble recoveries: | 2 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Frank James Buncom, Jr. (November 2, 1939 – September 14, 1969) was an American football linebacker in the American Football League (AFL).
After graduating from Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, Buncom attended junior college at East Los Angeles College. He then played college football at the University of Southern California, where he lettered in the 1960 and 1961 seasons.
Buncom played for seven seasons in the AFL with the San Diego Chargers (1962-1967) and the Cincinnati Bengals (1968).
He was a three-time AFL All-Star, in 1964, 1965, and 1967.
He was chosen by the Bengals in the 1968 AFL allocation draft for the expansion Bengals. He was a starting outside linebacker for the Bengals during their first-ever season.
Buncom was slated to be a starter for the 1969 Bengals. On the morning of the Bengals' opening game of the 1969 regular season, on September 14, his roommate, Ernie Wright, was awakened to the sound of Buncom calling for him and gasping for breath. Neither Wright nor paramedics could save him. He was 29. The cause of death was determined to be a pulmonary embolism.
He was survived by his wife Sarah, later a principal in the San Diego Unified School District, and seven-week-old son, Frank James Buncom III. His former team, the Chargers, as well as the Bengals, established trust funds for Buncom's son.
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