Frank Gore

BIOGRAPHY

Franklin Delano Gore was born on May 14, 1983, in Miami, Florida. He is a running back in the NFL.

In his early years, Gore attended Coral Gables High School, where he excelled as a running back on the football team. He broke a record with 319 yards and six touchdowns on 13 carries against the third-ranked defense in the nation. During his senior year in 2000, Gore broke several Dade County single-season records, including rushing yards with 2,997 and touchdowns with 39. He was named the top prospect in Dade County by The Miami Herald, fourth in the state of Florida, and fifth nationally. Gore made his collegiate debut against the Penn State Nittany Lions on September 1. He had six carries for 15 yards against the Nittany Lions. In the next game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, he had six carries for 78 yards and his first career collegiate rushing touchdown. He had 11 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown and recorded his first career reception, which was for 14 yards against Temple Owls. 

As a freshman for the Miami Hurricanes football in 2001, Gore totaled 562 yards with five touchdowns on 62 carries as a backup to Clinton Portis on Miami's 2001 National Championship Winning Team.  Gore has the third-best season total in school history by a freshman and was named Sporting News Big East Freshman of the Year. Gore started the 2003 season strong. Gore finished the 2003 season with 89 carries for 468 yards and four touchdowns. In his final season with the Hurricanes, In the final game of his collegiate career, he had 25 carries for 80 yards against the Florida Gators in the Peach Bowl. In 28 total games with the Hurricanes, Gore rushed 380 times for 1,975 yards and seventeen touchdowns. His 1,975 yards rank seventh on the school's career-record list and his seventeen scores are tied for tenth. He also caught 25 passes for 985 yards, returned two kickoffs for 48 yards and recorded five tackles on special teams.

Gore was selected in the third round with the 65th overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, and on July 28, 2005, Gore signed a three-year contract with the 9ers. In the 2005 season, Gore played 14 games. He finished the season seventh among all NFL rookie running backs in rushing average with 4.8 average per run, leading the team in rushing with 608 yards on 127 carries and three rushing touchdowns. Gore's season was the first time a rookie led the 49ers in rushing since 1990 when Dexter Carter paced the team with 460 yards. His 608 yards rushing was the highest for a 49ers rookie since Roger Craig had 725 yards rushing in 1983. Gore rushed for 17 yards on four carries and caught two passes for 21 yards in his first game against the St. Louis Rams. Gore had his first two-touchdown game against the St. Louis Rams, with a 10-yard scoring run in the second quarter and a 30-yard score in the fourth quarter.

In 2006, Gore emerged as one of the top running backs in the NFL in his first full season as the starter. He became the first member of the 49ers to lead the NFC in rushing yards. He also set a franchise record with 2,180 combined yards (1,695 yards rushing and 485 yards receiving), breaking Hearst’s single-season record of 2,105 total yards (1,570 yards rushing and 535 yards receiving) set in 1998. His total placed him second in the NFC to Steven Jackson (1,528 yards rushing and 806 yards receiving, 2,334 total) and fourth overall in the entire NFL. His nine 100-yard games in 2006 shattered the franchise record for most 100-yard games in a season. Gore was the first 49ers running back to have three-straight 100 yard games since Garrison Hearst had a 49ers-record four straight 100-yard games during a stretch in 1998. In those three weeks, Gore set the team record for most rushing yards in a three-game span. Gore's breakaway ability helped him finish the season with 5.4 yards per carry, placing him third in the entire NFL, behind only Michael Vick and Maurice Jones-Drew. The 5.4 yards per carry are tied for the second-best in 49ers history. Among players with over 300 carries, however, Gore’s season puts him in elite company. Gore finished with eight rushing touchdowns, tied for the third most in a season by a 49er. He finished the season with a team-leading 61 receptions, and after his tremendous season, he was named the starting running back to the NFC Pro Bowl team. It was Gore’s first selection to the Pro Bowl.

On March 28, 2007, Gore signed a four-year contract extension. He finished the 2007 season with 1,102 rushing yards and 436 receiving yards. Gore began the 2008 season against the NFC Champions Arizona Cardinals, where he rushed for 96 yards on only 14 carries. Gore became the first running back in 49ers history to rush for 1,000 yards or more in three straight seasons. He finished the 2008 season with 1,036 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns, 373 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns. In the 2009 season, Gore rushed for 206 yards for a 12.8-yard average, including a 79- and an 80-yard touchdown run against the Seattle Seahawks, becoming the second player in NFL history to rush for two touchdowns for 75 yards or more in a single game, with the other being Hall-of-Fame running back Barry Sanders. Gore was named to the 2010 Pro Bowl for the second time of his career. On August 30, 2011, Gore signed a three-year contract extension with the 9ers. Gore started the 2011season strong, where against the Washington Redskins, he became the 49ers record holder of most consecutive games with 100 yards. Gore became the 49ers' all-time leading yardage rusher, surpassing Joe Perry.  He finished the season with 1,211 yards, having had five seasons with at least 1,000 rushing yards. 

In Week 17 of the 2012 season, Gore became the all-time team 49er franchise leader in rushing touchdowns with 51 and won the Western division title. He ended the season with 1,214 yards on 258 carries and eight touchdowns and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl, his fourth appearance. n 2013, Gore had three 100-yard games and finished with 1,128 yards and nine touchdowns on 279 carries. Gore became the 29th player to reach the 10,000 career rushing yard mark in the first game of the 2014 season, with 66 yards against the Dallas Cowboys. Gore finished the season with 255 carries, 1,106 rushing yards, and four touchdowns, and became the 20th player in NFL history to rush for 11,000 career rushing yards, moving up from 29th place on the all-time rushing yards leaderboard at the start of the season.

On March 10, 2015, Gore signed a three-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts. Gore finished ninth in the league in rushing yards with 967 and had six touchdowns, while also adding 267 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. He moved up five more places to 15th all-time in rushing yards, and also passed Steven Jackson in early October to become the NFL's active leader in career rushing yards. Gore finished the 2016 season with 1,025 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. This was the ninth time Gore has rushed for 1,000 yards in his career. He joined Pro Football Hall of Famers: Emmitt Smith, Curtis Martin, Walter Payton, and Barry Sanders as the only players in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in at least nine different seasons. He also became the Colts first running back to rush for 1,000 yards since Joseph Addai. He moved up seven more places to 8th on the all-time career rushing list. In the 2017 season, Gore had 62 yards and a touchdown in Week 12, and 61 yards in Week 13 to pass both Jerome Bettis and LaDanian Tomlinson and move up to fifth on the all-time rushing list. finished the season with 961 rushing yards, bringing his career total to 14,026. He became the fifth player in NFL history to amass 14,000 rushing yards in his career, joining Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Barry Sander, and Curtis Martin. On March 1, 2018, Gore became a free agent and was signed by the Miami Dolphins for a one-year contract on March 22, 2018. Gore finished with 722 rushing yards. On March 13, 2019, Gore signed a one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills.

On April 12, 2018, Gore was honored by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and given the 'Keys to the City'. As per Mayor Suarez, Gore "symbolizes the very soul of [Miami], is a product of our city, a product of the West Grove, where so many families for so many generations have grown up together." While receiving applause, Gore asked for his family and friends in attendance at the event to stand to be honored as well. In Gore's view, it was equally important to thank and honor those who had been with him throughout all the hardships he had faced in his life, including "growing up in a one-bedroom apartment with twelve people as a kid." Mayor Suarez proclaimed April 12 as “Frank Gore Day.

On May 6, 2020, Gore signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets.

Frank retired from the NFL on June 2nd, 2022.